Carolina faces Pittsburgh, seeks 4th straight home win

Pittsburgh Penguins (34-14-8, second in the Metropolitan) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (37-12-5, first in the Metropolitan)

Raleigh, North Carolina; Friday, 7 p.m. EST

LINE: Hurricanes -151, Penguins +128; over/under is 6.5

BOTTOM LINE: Carolina hosts Pittsburgh aiming to continue its three-game home winning streak.

The Hurricanes are 19-8-4 against Eastern Conference opponents. Carolina is third in the Eastern Conference recording 9.4 points per game, averaging 3.4 goals and 6.0 assists.

The Penguins are 10-4-1 in division play. Pittsburgh is ninth in the league averaging 5.7 assists per game, led by Kris Letang with 0.8.

In their last matchup on Feb. 20, Carolina won 4-3.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tony DeAngelo leads the Hurricanes with a plus-19 in 43 games this season. Andrei Svechnikov has five goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Carolina.

Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins with 26 goals and has 55 points. Evgeni Malkin has five goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 6-2-2, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.5 assists, 4.7 penalties and 10.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .925 save percentage.

Penguins: 7-3-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.9 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .918 save percentage.

INJURIES: Hurricanes: Brendan Smith: out (upper-body), Tony DeAngelo: out (midsection).

Penguins: Teddy Blueger: out (upper-body).

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