PITTSBURGH _ Carl Hagelin's goal at 15:45 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the Penguins to a 3-2 victory against Carolina at PPG Paints Arena tonight.
Hagelin took a pass from Patric Hornqvist and beat Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward from inside the right dot for his fifth of the season and second in two nights.
The victory raised the Penguins' record to 24-8-5, extended their run on home ice to 9-0-1 and moved them into first place in the overall standings.
They are one point ahead of Columbus, although the Blue Jackets, who have won 13 games in a row, have four games in hand on them.
Neither team was assessed a penalty, just the second time in Penguins history that has happened. The first was in a 2-1 victory at St. Louis March 22, 1969.
The Penguins played without defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks after suffering a broken jaw when he was struck in the face by a puck during their 5-2 victory in New Jersey Tuesday.
His spot was filled by Trevor Daley, who rejoined the Penguins' lineup after missing five games because of an unspecified injury.
Defenseman Olli Maatta missed his second consecutive game because of illness and defenseman David Warsofsky was recalled from their farm team in Wilkes-Barre but did not play because of Daley's return.
Carolina, playing its first game after the NHL's holiday break, showed no signs of the layoff and took a 1-0 lead at 8:10 of the opening period.
Elias Lindholm took a cross-ice feed from defenseman Noah Hanifin and beat Penguins goalie Matt Murray from just below the right hash.
Lindholm's goal marked the 16th time in Carolina's past 23 regular-season visits that the Hurricanes opened the scoring.
Sidney Crosby pulled the Penguins even 26 seconds into the second period, throwing a shot past Carolina goalie Cam Ward from high on the right side of the slot for his league-leading 26th goal.
It also was Crosby's 100th regular-season point in calendar 2016, making him the only NHL player to reach that level.
Penguins alum Lee Stempniak put Carolina back in front, 2-1, at 12:32 of the second, knocking a Teuvo Teravainen rebound by Murray. Teravainen got around Daley in the right circle before putting the puck on goal.
Murray apparently was injured _ or fell ill _ at some point during the second period, because Marc-Andre Fleury replaced him for the start of the third.
Chris Kunitz, who had failed to score in his previous 15 games, made it 2-2 at 1:59 of the third, taking a feed from Phil Kessel before beating Ward from just inside the right hash for his third of the season.
The Penguins will close out 2016 with a home game against Montreal Saturday.
