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Justin Brazeau explains what led to the Penguins' win over Carolina


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Daniel Lucente
December 31, 2025  (10:51)
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Pittsburgh Penguins' Justin Brazeau takes a shot against the Carolina Hurricanes
Photo credit: HU edit

Penguins' Justin Brazeau was all smiles after his team's huge 5-1 win over the Hurricanes, and in his post-game comments, he explained why they won.

Stuart Skinner stopped 27 shots for his first win in four starts as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
Skinner, acquired from the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 12 along with defenseman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick in exchange for Tristan Jarry and Samuel Poulin, helped the Penguins (17-12-9) outscore opponents 12-4 in back-to-back wins.
Anthony Mantha scored twice, Justin Brazeau and Tommy Novak each had a goal and an assist, and Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust each added two assists. Sidney Crosby scored his 21st goal of the season.

Justin Brazeau's reasoning for the Penguins taking down the Hurricanes

Brazeau discussed what led to his team's victory and why they have been playing so well lately when he met with reporters following the game.
"They're obviously a fast team that likes to play aggressive. We did a really good job of being ready for it... It shows. It's one of the things that we've got to build off something like that."

- Justin Brazeau

The Penguins' stellar play snapped the Hurricanes' win streak

Mark Jankowski scored for the Hurricanes (24-12-3), while Frederik Andersen made 23 saves. Carolina had won its previous two games, including a 3-2 overtime win over the New York Rangers on Monday.
Crosby opened the scoring at 3:46 of the first period with a snap shot off a backhand pass from Rickard Rakell. Brazeau made it 2-0 at 16:07 after a stretch pass from Kulak, just beating K'Andre Miller to the puck.
Mantha added a power-play goal 1:05 later to make it 3-0. Novak scored from the high slot at 15:08 of the second period, and Mantha deflected a pass from Brazeau at 18:08 for his fourth goal in three games. Jankowski scored 17 seconds later, cutting the final score to 5-1.
The Penguins will look to continue their red-hot play when they take on the Detroit Red Wings on New Year's Day at 7 PM ET.
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Justin Brazeau explains what led to the Penguins' win over Carolina

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