PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins are heading to the playoffs for an eighth straight year. Barring an epic collapse, a Metropolitan Division title is all but clinched. What happens after that, however, is anybodys guess. Dominant in the beginning but dismal at the end, the Penguins let a chance to clinch their second straight division crown slip away in a 4-1 loss to Carolina on Tuesday night that left Pittsburgh just 8-8-2 since returning from the Olympic break. Not exactly the kind of momentum a Stanley Cup contender wants to bring into the final days of the regular season. "If youre not 100 per cent, they can expose you and make you look pretty silly," Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik said. "Thats what happened here tonight." Carolina rookie Elias Lindholm scored twice for the first multi-goal game of his career, Eric Staal and Justin Faulk also scored while Jeff Skinner added two assists. Anton Khudobin stopped 30 shots as the Hurricanes avoided being swept in the season series by Pittsburgh for the first time in 18 years. "I thought we kept it simple and kind of slowly frustrated them as it went on and it was a win we needed," Staal said. Chris Kunitz scored his 35th goal to give Pittsburgh an early lead, but the Penguins crumbled over the final two periods. Sidney Crosby picked up an assist to push his NHL-leading point total to 100, but the Penguins appeared to lose interest after failing to bury the Hurricanes during a frenetic opening barrage in which they appeared ready to run Carolina out of the arena. "We all felt like the first 10 minutes we were carrying the play ... for whatever reason we got away from that," Crosby said. "Maybe we thought that came easy or we could get away with cheating. And it didnt work." No, it didnt. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves, but received little help playing behind a sloppy defence. The Penguins turned it over 13 times, including a series of miscues the Hurricanes were only too happy to turn into goals. "I think we started mismanaging the puck and started having turnovers in the neutral zone," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. The Penguins appeared to right the enigmatic final third of their season with a spirited 4-1 victory over Chicago on Sunday night. Two days later, the sense of urgency evaporated when the Hurricanes -- who are about to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year -- failed to roll over. Pittsburgh recorded 12 of the first 14 shots, including Kunitzs wrist shot from the left circle that Khudobin never saw. Crosby picked up the secondary assist to lift his point total to the century mark for the fifth time in his career, drawing a roar from the usual sellout crowd at Consol Energy Center. It had all the makings of a blowout. One developed, just not the one the Penguins were expecting. Carolina steadied itself late in the first, evening the game on a knuckling slap shot by Faulk that gave the Hurricanes the confidence boost they needed to get back in it. The Penguins malaise did the rest. "That goal from (Faulk) really evens it up and then we kind of just took a deep breath, got our legs going better and then I thought we just started moving better and playing a much smarter game," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. Lindholm put Carolina in front to stay 9:24 into the second with a power-play goal that included a pretty feed from Skinner, who threaded a pass between Pittsburgh defenceman Olli Maattas legs right to Lindholms stick. Fleury never had a chance. The goaltender was equally helpless five minutes later when a turnover by teammate Deryk Engelland handed Skinner and Lindholm a breakaway that Lindholm converted into the first multi-goal game of his brief career. Any late push by the Penguins ended when Staals tip-in eluded Fleury with just over 8 minutes left. Instead of skating off the ice with their fourth division title since Crosbys arrival in 2005, Pittsburgh trudged to the locker room wondering when the consistency that propelled them to the top of the Eastern Conference before the Olympic break will return. "Theres not much good to take out of it," Crosby said. "So weve just got to make sure we respond the next game." NOTES: Carolina played without F Alexander Semin, who was scratched due to an illness. ... The Hurricanes return home to face Dallas on Thursday. ... The Penguins fell to 45-8-4 this season when Crosby scores a point. Fake NMD For Sale . Seth Smith hit a towering drive for a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Dodgers in baseballs North American opener Sunday night. Cheap NMD Online .com) - John Wall had 15 points, 12 assists and four steals as the Washington Wizards defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 92-85 on Monday night. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/wholesale-adidas-nmd-xr1-china.html .ca. Mr. Fraser, It looks like Martin Brodeur is coming back to play for the Blues. I was wondering if you have any great stories or fond memories of your time on the ice with Brodeur - in the NHL, or maybe even the Olympics. Adidas NMD Womens Clearance . -- Louisville backup quarterback Reggie Bonnafon ran for two touchdowns and passed for another and the No. Fake NMD R2 . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers re-signed run-stuffing defensive tackle B.J. Raji on Friday. General manager Ted Thompson announced the deal Friday. Terms were not disclosed but multiple reports said it was a one-year deal worth $4 million. The 27-year-old Raji was the ninth overall pick in the 2009 draft. He has played in 76 games with 63 starts and has 227 tackles, 10 1/2 sacks and seven passes defenced during his five seasons with Green Bay. After a Pro Bowl-worthy season in 2010, when he had 6.5 regular-season sacks, another sack in the playoffs and an interception return for a touchdown in the NFC Championship game victory at Chicago that sent the Packers to the Super Bowl Raji hasnt had a sack in 35 regular-season games. Last season, he was credited with 36 tackles, but no sacks, forced fumbles or deflected passes. Last fall, Raji reportedly had a long-term contract offer from the Packers that would have paid him roughly $8 milllion per year.dddddddddddd Now he has reportedly settled for a one-year deal for half that. Raji essentially played on first and second downs last season and had the fewest snaps per game since his rookie year, missing two games with a sprained ankle. "It comes with the territory, man," Raji said late in the year when asked if he was disappointed with his play. "You put up good numbers early in your career, and then when those things dwindle down its like, What happened? Its more to the game than sacks. Since Ive been here, weve been top of the league in sacks and thats whats more important to me. Individual stuff will come. ... Im older now and I understand that part of being a good teammate is understanding what is required of you." Other unrestricted free agents to re-sign with the Packers include cornerback Sam Shields, outside linebacker/defensive end Mike Neal and tight end Andrew Quarless. ' ' 'he Bombers in 2013.dddddddddddd ' ' '