$6 million per season. … Detroit D Niklas Kronwall pas

RALEIGH http://www.officialpenguinsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-justin-schultz-jersey , N.C. (AP) Even as an offensive-minded defenseman, earning a hat trick never really entered Justin Faulk’s mind.That changed Tuesday night.Faulk had his first career hat trick, Jeff Skinner scored twice, and the Carolina Hurricanes routed the short-handed Los Angeles Kings 7-3.Faulk’s three goals came in a span of 12:21 as Carolina raced out to a 5-0 lead. He became the 10th defenseman in NHL history to score a natural hat trick.”It’s not something I ever really thought about, getting a hat trick,” Faulk said. ”I know I’ve had plenty of two-goal games. It’s pretty cool. I like that (defenseman) scoring, so hopefully it happens more.”Jacob Slavin and Sebastian Aho also scored for the Hurricanes, who won their third straight and finished their eight-game homestand 5-2-1. Cam Ward made 27 saves.Slavin opened the scoring 6:40 into the game and Faulk scored just over two minutes later. He scored again on a slap shot in the waning minutes of the first period, and completed his hat trick with another slap shot 1:17 into the second period.”Obviously the puck was coming off the stick tonight all right tonight,” Faulk said. ”I’m not going to turn down opportunities to shoot. Sometimes that’s probably (been) a bad thing in my career Kris Letang Jersey , I shoot a little too much once in a while. But I treated it the same, whether I had one goal or three goals.”Anze Kopitar, Tyler Toffoli, and Torrey Mitchell scored the Kings, who were without key forwards Dustin Brown (suspension) and Trevor Lewis (injury). Jonathan Quick saved 16 of 20 shots before being pulled following Faulk’s third goal.Carolina outshot Los Angeles 41-30 and was in control from the outset.The Hurricanes outshot the Kings 18-3 in the first period. The result was a 3-0 edge at the first intermission.”They showed up to work and we didn’t,” Los Angeles coach John Stevens said. ”Pretty simple…Penalty kill, checking, breaking the puck out, you’ve got to put your work boots on and you’ve got be ready to work. We didn’t, and we got the result we deserve.”Carolina piled on in the second. Faulk reached his hat trick with a slapper on the power play from the left point that beat Quick – his second straight power play goal – to make it 4-0 Mario Lemieux Jersey , and the Kings netminder skated to the bench as hats rained onto the ice at PNC Arena.Darcy Kuemper replaced Quick and was given the same rough treatment. Carolina peppered him with five quick shots, including one that hit the crossbar and another that hit the post, and Skinner finally found twine on the power play with a wrist shot over Kuemper’s glove into the top corner of the net.The Kings kicked into gear down five goals. Kopitar’s power-play goal got them going and Toffoli banged home a loose puck in front of the net in the final minutes of the second. Mitchell’s pristine redirection of a Kyle Clifford pass 6:43 into the third period made it interesting, but Skinner squashed any comeback hopes with a backhander with 5:45 left.”They were coming,” Skinner said. ”They’re a good team, they’ve got some skilled guys. I think once we scored that goal there, it turned it around for us”.Aho followed with a breakaway goal for the finishing touch.Kuemper made 18 saves on 21 shots in relief of Quick.NOTES: Carolina scored three power plays goals in a game for the first time this season. … Teuvo Teravainen had three assists and Aho, Justin Williams and Victor Rask had two for the Hurricanes. … Skinner passed Geoff Sanderson (196) for seventh place on Carolina’s all-time goals list and Erik Cole (363) for third on the team’s all-time points list. … The Kings placed Lewis (upper body injury) on injured reserve before the game, retroactive to Feb. 9. … Brown served a one-game suspension for kneeing Tampa Bay D Mikhail Sergachev on Feb. 10.UP NEXTKings: Continue their seven-game road trip at Pittsburgh on Thursday.Hurricanes: Travel to face New Jersey on Thursday. PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins weren’t happy with their lackluster play in the first period after a three-day holiday break.Then, Phil Kessel and the power play changed everything.Kessel scored two power-play goals Matt Murray Jersey , Derick Brassard added two goals and the Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday.“Just the plays he made tonight is elite,” Brassard said of Kessel. “It’s up there with the tops in the league. He’s going to win you some games like that.”Kessel scored twice in the second period and raised his season total to 16 goals. He moved into 20th place all-time with his 97th career power-play goal by an American, passing Chris Drury. Brassard now has six goals, and Patric Hornqvist scored his 13th of the season as Pittsburgh won its fourth straight game, matching a season best.“We scored some big goals, starting with Phil to get us going,” Brassard said. “Our transition was really fast in the second. As soon as we play with pace and move our legs, I feel like some teams struggle against us.”Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each finished with two assists. Crosby has registered points in nine of his last 11 home games and has 24 points in his last 18 games. Matt Murray stopped 27 shots for his fourth straight win since returning from a lower-body injury.Pittsburgh was once last in the Eastern Conference during a run of one win in 10 games. Now, the Penguins have won nine of 13 games in December, including six of seven and 12 of 19 overall.“I just think coming off the break like the way we did http://www.officialpenguinsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-olli-maatta-jersey , we played against a team that’s young, enthusiastic and they can skate,” Penguins’ coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought they had more urgency to their game in the first period than we did. We had to get back to playing the game the right way, and I thought our power play was a big difference-maker.”Dylan Larkin extended his career-long, 12-game point streak with his 16th goal of the season for Detroit. Andreas Athanasiou returned from a two-game absence because of an upper-body injury and scored his 12th of the season. Jimmy Howard made 35 saves for the Red Wings, who have lost three straight and seven of eight games overall.Athanasiou’s breakaway goal cut the Penguins’ lead to 3-2 at 4:45 of the third period. But Hornqvist restored Pittsburgh’s two-goal lead 1:10 later when he redirected Jack Johnson’s shot from the point past Howard.Howard said Athanasiou’s goal initially gave Detroit life before Pittsburgh responded.“It was a great read by him,” Howard said. “He just put the afterburners on and made a great play, but it wasn’t very much later where (Pittsburgh) got it back, so it’s tough.”Larkin continued his point streak by opening the scoring at 11:49 with a wrist shot over Murray’s shoulder. He has six goals and 15 points in his last 12 games. Larkin’s 12-game point streak is the longest since Henrik Zetterberg’s 17-game run in 2007-08.“After the first, we let (Pittsburgh) come in Womens Patric Hornqvist Jersey ,” Larkin said. “We stopped forechecking and we stopped our O-zone grind that was so good in the first period. We needed two points desperately here.”Pittsburgh jumped ahead in the second period with two goals scored in 74-second span. Kessel tied the game with a power-play goal at 7:12 and Brassard put the Penguins in front.Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson fell, allowing Kessel to swoop in and slip a backhander between Howard’s pads. Brassard gave Pittsburgh the lead when he redirected a pass from Kessel past Howard.Kessel scored his second power-play goal with 1:02 to play in the second period. His wrist shot from between the circles beat Howard on the glove side and gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead.“It’s incredible the talent he has,” Brassard said. “Tonight, he came up big for our team.”NOTES: The Penguins, on Thursday, re-signed 24-year-old F Jake Guentzel to a five-year contract extension worth $30 million. The deal runs through 2023-24 and carries an average annual value of $6 million per season. … Detroit D Niklas Kronwall passed Mattias Ohlund for seventh all-time in games played by a Swedish defenseman in the NHL with 909. . Malkin has points in seven of his last eight against Detroit. … Pittsburgh has won eight of its last 11 home games. . Penguins’ D Jamie Oleksiak skated Thursday morning in a non-contact jersey, but missed his third game with a concussion.UP NEXTRed Wings: Conclude a three-game road trip Saturday at Dallas.Penguins: Begin a three-game road trip Saturday at St. Louis.