NHL: Pittsburgh 3, Carolina 2

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Pascal Dupuis scored a shorthanded goal in the third period Saturday that gave Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead and the Penguins hung on to edge Carolina 3-2.

Paul Martin forced a turnover in his defensive zone as Carolina was attacking on a power play and Jordan Staal collected the puck, hitting Dupuis in the neutral zone. The Pens' left-winger broke in alone on net and fooled Cam Ward on a backhander with less than 13 minutes left for a three-goal Pittsburgh advantage.

Sergei Samonsov and Eric Staal responded with late goals for the Hurricanes, but Marc-Andre Fleury shut the door in the closing seconds to preserve the win while turning away 24-of-26 shots on the night.

Mark Letestu and Dustin Jeffery also scored for Pittsburgh, which pulled to within three points of Philadelphia atop the Atlantic Division.

Ward turned aside 28-of-31 shots for the Hurricanes, who fell to 6-12-3 against teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference.