— Graves returned to the Pittsburgh lineup after missing the previous two games to tend to a personal matter. He skated with Jack St. Ivany on the third pair.

— Jeff Carter, Emil Bemstrom and John Ludvig were scratched by the Penguins. Meanwhile, Noel Acciari went on injured reserve and won’t return this season.

— The Penguins called up Jonathan Gruden on Tuesday and he played his 13th game this season. It was noteworthy that he got the nod over Bemstrom. In the third, Gruden threw a loud hit then he dropped the gloves with Stefan Noesen.

— With the win, Pittsburgh took the season series against Carolina, going 2-1-1.

— Pettersson didn’t miss a shift after his second-period collision with Kotkaniemi.

— Puljujarvi has scored in two straight games. The power forward has picked up his play a bit after he was a regular healthy scratch up until this past weekend.

— The Penguins held their annual Pride Night at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday. Crosby, Rust and Rickard Rakell were among the Pittsburgh players to show support for the cause by putting Pride tape on their sticks for pregame warmups.

STAT N’AT

7 — Players age 25 or younger in Pittsburgh’s lineup Tuesday, including Poulin.

THEY SAID IT

“It’s not a great feeling. At the end of the day, we did it to ourselves. So nobody’s feeling sorry for us,” Jeff Carter said of the Penguins, who despite Tuesday’s win are still in 13th place in the East. “We’re not out yet. So we’ll keep working.”

COMING UP

The Penguins will practice Wednesday afternoon in Cranberry. Their next game is Thursday against the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena.

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