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Fleury wins in 500th game, Neal nets OT goal

Sidney Crosby, James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Olli Maatta, Matt Niskanen

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates his goal with teammates James Neal (18), Chris Kunitz (14), Olli Maatta (3), and Matt Niskanen (2) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, in Raleigh, N.C. Pittsburgh won 4-3 in overtime. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

AP

The Pittsburgh Penguins are still winning, despite missing key players like Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Pascal Dupuis.

Pittsburgh went into the third period of tonight’s contest against the Carolina Hurricanes with a one-goal deficit. However, they got help from some unlikely sources when Chris Conner and Deryk Engelland each found the back of the net for the Penguins.

Carolina’s Drayson Bowman fired back with just 2:29 minutes remaining in the third period to tie the game, but James Neal handed them a 4-3 overtime victory:

That brought a milestone night for Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to a pleasant conclusion. He became the first netminder to play in 500 games with the Penguins tonight and earned his 271 win in the process. At the age of 29, he became just the 63rd netminder to ever reach the 500-contest mark.

Pittsburgh has now won 13 of its last 15 matches to give them a staggering 13-point lead in the Metropolitan Division.

Related:

GM Shero: Dupuis injury would hurt more after trade deadline

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