PITTSBURGH (AP) — Curtis McElhinney’s been doing this a long time. More than a decade into his well-traveled NHL career Matt Martin Jersey Womens , the Carolina Hurricanes goaltender understands how things tighten up after the All-Star break.His team scrambling for a spot in the postseason for the first time in nearly 10 years, McElhinney provided the Hurricanes with a jolt, turning aside 23 shots for his first shutout of the season in a 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.“He made some saves when he needed to tonight and was able to (let) us relax and not have to chase the game,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said.Brett Pesce and Jordan Martinook scored from way out to give the Hurricanes the lead and Michael Ferland and Andrei Svechnikov poured it on late as Carolina began a pivotal five-game trip by becoming just the second team all season to hold the Penguins scoreless. McElhinney picked up the ninth shutout of his 11-year career by stuffing Jared McCann and Jake Guentzel with sprawling saves in the first period and never letting up.“We’re in a critical spot where we need to just have to keep pushing every game,” McElhinney said.Matt Murray made 28 saves for the Penguins but lost for the third time in four starts since the All-Star break. Pittsburgh struggled to generate any consistent offensive pressure against McElhinney while playing without injured star Evgeni Malkin, who missed his third consecutive game with an upper-body injury.“Obviously he’s one of the best players in the world but since I’ve been here five years we’ve always battled through injuries and doesn’t matter who is injured, we still have enough guys in here who can step up,” Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist said. “We just have to find it.”The Penguins began Tuesday tied with Washington for second place in the Metropolitan Division while Carolina sat three points behind Columbus for the second wild-card spot in the jam-packed Eastern Conference with 30 games remaining. The Hurricanes have hung around thanks in large part to the steady play of the 35-year-old McElhinney, who improved to 12-6-1 while collecting his first shutout since March 17, 2018, while playing for Toronto.Pittsburgh tested McElhinney early. McCann, acquired in a trade with Florida last week Seth Griffith Jersey Womens , collected a loose puck in front and darted across the crease. McElhinney went to his belly in an effort to poke check, missed, and then raised his right leg, which stopped McCann’s shot when McCann couldn’t get the puck in the air. He made another big stop on Guentzel later in the period and fended off a shot by Sidney Crosby from the left circle with a right pad save.“You look at (McElhinney), he’s just so calm,” Martinook said. “It almost looks easy. Everything looks easy. So for him to come in there and do that job is phenomenal, and gives us more confidence than we already had in him.”The Hurricanes didn’t let the reprieve go to waste. Martinook took a drop pass from Jacob Slavin and ripped a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that deflected off the end of Murray’s glove and into the net with 44 seconds left in the first.Pittsburgh had a chance to tie it when Hornqvist drew a penalty then found himself alone on the door step on the ensuing power play midway through the second period. His wrist shot ended up in McElhinney’s glove. Pesce doubled Carolina’s lead shortly after the penalty expired, letting a shot go from atop the left circle that found its way through traffic — including sprawled Pittsburgh defender Jack Johnson and by Murray 12:58 into the second.That was more than enough for McElhinney, who received plenty of help in front of him. The Penguins didn’t even record a shot over the first 10 minutes of the third period and Carolina’s lead was never in doubt. Ferland scored into an empty net with 1:31 left and Svechnikov added one for insurance with 42 seconds remaining after Murray returned to the ice.“We had some really good looks, everybody I thought,” Crosby said. “It was a tight game and we’ve got to find ways to win games like that.”NOTES: Both teams went 0 for 2 on the power play. … Referee Brian Pochmara left in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. … Pittsburgh D Justin Schultz skated with his teammates Wednesday morning and is close to a return after fracturing his left leg in Montreal on Oct. 13. … Pittsburgh C Matt Cullen played in his 1,487th career game Jack Roslovic Jersey Womens , tying Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky for 22nd on the all-time list. … Carolina improved 21-1-2 when leading after two periods. … Crosby played in his 914th game, one short of Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux’s franchise record.UP NEXTHurricanes: Travel to Buffalo on Thursday to face the Sabres.Penguins: Begin a three-game road trip on Thursday in Florida against the Panthers.__ PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Claude Giroux reigned again as Philadelphia’s captain in the clutch.Giroux’s shield provided little relief from the heavy rain that turned the ice into such a puddled mess that it needed a squeegee more than a Zamboni. His visor fogged up and he was busy knocking raindrops off to get a clear view of the ice.“It didn’t look too good,” Giroux said.Certainly not on the scoreboard.But with most of the 70,000 fans gone, and Pittsburgh’s offense dried up, the Flyers‘ rain-delayed rally gave the franchise a win to remember.Down two goals in the third period, the Flyers scored twice in the waning minutes and Giroux had the winner 1:59 into overtime to lift the Flyers to a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on a soggy Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field.“I was able to get a step on their D and squeak in my goal,” Giroux said.Giroux scored the winner in his 800th career game and kept the Flyers’ slim postseason hopes alive as they head into Monday’s trade deadline knowing the team could be on the verge of a breakup.Wayne Simmonds, the hulking free-agent winger, is a top target to get moved and his teammates seemed to realize it after pulling off the stunner. Simmonds got hugs from his teammates in the locker room as he pulled on the player of the game helmet for what could be his final time as a Flyer.“Obviously, I’d love to stay here but it’s out of my hands right now,” Simmonds said. “It is what it is at this point.”The Flyers and Penguins took one of the NHL’s more heated rivalries outdoors and into prime time as part of the Stadium Series showcase.Gritty Scott Mayfield Jersey Womens , the Flyers wildly popular rookie mascot, zip lined in a glow-in-the-dark jersey from the top of the Linc to kick off the party, and later was caught streaking as he scurried away from “security” in a mad scamper toward the tunnel.As usual, Gritty was a hit.Simmonds delivered perhaps the biggest one at the Linc since Brian Dawkins roamed the Eagles’ secondary when he plowed Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin into the boards with a shoulder to the head. Dumoulin dropped to the ice while a melee escalated around him and the crowd went wild. Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang appeared to get hurt in the dust-up and the Penguins played the last two periods without their top two blue liners. Dumoulin suffered a concussion and Letang was being evaluated for an upper-body injury.“It looked like he made contact with his head, and it’s tough to see that,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said.Crosby tormented the Flyers one more time and seemed poised to keep them winless in another outdoor game (1-3). Inside, outside, all around the state, Crosby crushes the Flyers. He gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with his 26th goal of the season midway through the first period and had an assist on Justin Schultz’s goal for a 2-1 lead in the second.Crosby now has 99 career points in 66 games against the Flyers in venues that stretch from the Civic Arena, PPG Paints Arena, Heinz Field, Wells Fargo Center to the Linc.Crosby has three Stanley Cups — or Max Domi Jersey Womens , one more than the Flyers have in franchise history — and there was plenty of yellow-and-black scattered throughout Philly. The stadium complex parking lots were fit for an Eagles tailgate and fans camped out for a party since early morning. Flyers fans needed an excuse to cut loose — the season has been a disaster and both the general manager and coach were fired only two months into the season.For 2½ periods, the game was as gloomy as the weather.With rain pounding the ice in third period, the Flyers got going. James van Riemsdyk, playing in his sixth outdoor game, made it 3-2 on a power-play goal with 3:04 left. Jake Voracek tied it at 3-all with 19.7 seconds to, sending what was left of the sellout crowd into a frenzy.“I think we’ve had some weird comebacks this year, ” van Riemsdyk said.Giroux made sure the game didn’t last much longer, slipping the winner past Matt Murray for his franchise-record 11th OT goal, and the Flyers celebrated in the mist.“It was just kind of a relief to finally win an outdoor game,” Giroux said. “It was a battle to get it, but sometimes those games — the hardest to win, are the nicest to win.”Gritty had some serious competition for Flyers rookie of the year when the team called up 20-year-old goalie Carter Hart http://www.officialsabres.com/authentic-adidas-jack-eichel-jersey , who won eight straight games to give the Flyers a brief glimmer of playoff hope. Flyers coach Scott Gordon caused a bit of an uproar when he announced Friday his decision to go with Brian Elliott in net over Hart. How could the Flyers bench their blossoming star in their feature game? By Saturday afternoon, critics had their answer: The Flyers said Hart will miss at least 10 days with an undisclosed injury.Without Hart, Elliott struggled to keep pace with the Pens. Elliott gave up a rough one in the third when Evegni Malkin’s shot popped up and into the net for a 3-1 lead as rain turned into a downpour.“It’s coming down pretty good, with a lead that would usually work to your advantage with pucks and things like that,” Crosby said. “But, unfortunately we gave them some life there and they took advantage of it.”The Pens could have used an umbrella from the Flyers’ scoring barrage the rest of the way.NOTES: Malkin has five goals in his last five games. … The crowd of 69,620 was the fifth-largest in NHL history. … The on-ice mics picked up plenty of profanity from the refs and players during a scrum late in the game. … Country star Keith Urban played a set in the first intermission.UP NEXTPenguins play Tuesday at Columbus.Flyers host Buffalo on Tuesday.