Pittsburgh Penguins at Carolina Hurricanes

Walker's OT goal lifts Hurricanes past Penguins 6-5 in matchup of Metropolitan Division's top teams

Jackson Blake had a goal and two assists, Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall and Walker each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes. Jordan Martinook and K’Andre Miller also scored and Nikolaj Ehlers finished with three assists. Frederik Andersen made 30 saves.

Erik Karlsson had two goals and an assist, Crosby added a goal and an assist, and Bryan Rust and Ben Kindel also scored for Pittsburgh. Stuart Skinner stopped 38 shots in the second matchup in nine nights between the top teams in the Metropolitan Division that went beyond regulation.

Each team scored twice in the final 7:01 of regulation, beginning with Stankoven’s goal and capped by Miller’s score with 2:51 left. In between, Karlsson and Kindel scored in a 23-second span.

Walker’s goal was his third in an eight-game stretch.

After Stankoven’s goal with 7:01 left gave the Hurricanes a 4-3 lead, Karlsson and Kindel scored 23 seconds apart for the Penguins.

Crosby missed 11 games after suffering a lower-body injury while playing for Canada in the Milan Cortina Olympics. He logged about 18½ minutes in his return, scoring the Penguins’ first goal midway through the second period. It was his 28th of the season.

Karlsson’s tying goal 59 seconds into the third came on a 5-on-3 power play to begin a period that included seven total goals.

Martinook’s short-handed goal was the only scoring in the first period.

Up next Penguins: Host Winnipeg on Saturday.

Hurricanes: At Toronto on Friday.

CAR leads series 2-1