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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Coach Herb Brooks looked like the bad guy by faulting Pittsburgh Penguins management for scheduling an awards ceremony right before a game. The only ones that suffered were the Carolina Hurricanes.
Alexei Kovalev scored twice within 33 seconds of the second period Monday night as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Hurricanes 3-2 and strengthened their hold on a playoff spot.
|  | | Carolina captain Ron Francis looks down at injured teammate Rod Brind'Amour after Brind'Amour suffered a concussion in the second period. |
Brooks said the ceremony might have distracted the team during a first period of sloppy play. Awards honoring Jaromir Jagr as most valuable player and Matthew Barnaby and Martin Straka for community service were presented on the ice just before the first period.
"Who's that guy at Christmas who's a sourpuss? The Grinch? That's how I feel right now," Brooks said, "Why do we have awards ceremonies? They have got to have it, so what are you going to do. We just never got into the flow."
Jagr, who returned for Saturday's loss to Philadelphia after missing two games with a sore back, was held scoreless for the game and without a shot for the first two periods. Florida's Pavel Bure had two goals in a 5-2 victory over New Jersey to tie Jagr for the NHL scoring lead with 92 points.
The Penguins' victory gave seventh-place Pittsburgh 84 points -- three more than Buffalo in the NHL's Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes fell to ninth place, a non-playoff position.
The Penguins have three games left, all on the road, compared with Carolina's two.
"I thought those were important points, because you don't want to chase points on the road," Kovalev said. "We haven't been good on the road. You want to win the last regular season game at home."
Arturs Irbe gave up three goals in 3:37 of the second after shutting out Philadelphia on Sunday.
Jiri Slegr put a 25-foot shot past Irbe's left leg at 3:19 and Kovalev had two goals in the sixth minute. Kovalev's first was unassisted and unimpeded after he skated free behind the net. Then, with his back to Irbe, Kovalev flicked the puck over the Irbe's right shoulder.
Kovalev then had half the net open for his second goal, set up by Robert Lang and Martin Straka.
"If Alexei decides it is time to come to the rink and play, there are not many guys in this league who can play with him," Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said.
Kovalev had the game-winning goal with Jagr out against New Jersey last Tuesday and has 26 goals, including three game-winners, and 39 assists in 79 games.
"He has the ability to make those big plays for you," Brooks said. "There is no question about that. He made a couple of great plays. Those two goals were huge for us."
Robert Kron's wrist shot on a short rebound of Bates Battaglia's 20-foot shot gave Carolina a 1-0 lead after 7:36 in the first.
Hurricanes center Rod Brind'Amour left in the last minute of the second period with a mild concussion after a check from Bob Boughner, who got a five-minute penalty for boarding and a game misconduct. Carolina did not score during the long advantage.
"I said, 'Can't penalize the guy for being strong,"' Brooks said. "That was a real defining moment to kill that thing off."
Penguins goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin left 4:12 into the third after bending over backwards to try to stop a shot by Sean Hill. Aubin was replaced by Ron Tugnutt, 2-2 since being acquired from Ottawa on March 14.
"I don't know really what happened," Aubin said. "I felt like it cracked, but it was not cracked. It's a sprained ankle. We'll see tomorrow. I just know that I put all my weight on one side. I felt a crack and it was painful."
Jeff O'Neill deflected Gary Roberts' shot by past Tugnutt 13:24 into the period. Maurice said the Hurricanes were tired in their second game in two days.
"We had nothing left in our tank," Maurice said. "You could see it in their faces. We just ran out of gas. We played six games in nine nights.
"Except for five or seven minutes there (in the second) when we were pushed around, I thought we played pretty strong."
Penguins center Tyler Wright left midway through the first with a knee strain after O'Neill slid into his calves behind the Penguins net. Wright will be examined again Tuesday.
Irbe stopped 12 shots in the first, but none of the saves were extraordinary. The Penguins threw away several passes and were hesitant about taking shots.
"The first period, no disrespect to Carolina, might have been our worst period of the year," Brooks said.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Carolina Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Brind'Amour suffers concussion, leaves ice on stretcher
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Buffalo 3
Toronto 2
Florida 5
New Jersey 2
Pittsburgh 3
Carolina 2
Washington 4
NY Rangers 1
Calgary 2
Dallas 2
San Jose 1
Edmonton 0
Anaheim 3
Nashville 1
Phoenix 2
Los Angeles 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Alexei Kovalev scores two goals in 33 seconds.
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