The Penguins will have five days off for the NHL's All-Star break and might need almost all that time to settle on the biggest factor in their 2-1 loss to Carolina at Mellon Arena last night.

Was it because their power play, which has betrayed them so often this season, again failed to produce in a pressure situation, as the Penguins got nothing but frustration from a four-minute power play as regulation was winding down?

Was it because of Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward, whose performance ran the gamut from brilliant to breathtaking as he stopped 32 of 33 shots?

Or was it because, for much of the evening, the Penguins didn't play with the efficiency and urgency they had in most of the previous four games, even though anyone who bothered looking at the Eastern Conference standings posted in the locker room had to recognize the significance of this game?

"It was an important game," Penguins defenseman Philippe Boucher said. "They stepped up their game, and we didn't."

Which is why the Penguins' two-game winning streak -- OK, two-game winning smudge -- is over. Why their record has slipped to 23-21-4. Why they are tied with Florida for ninth place in the East.

Winning three of their previous four games had given the Penguins an infusion of confidence and a bit of momentum, but losing to the Hurricanes likely negated all that.

"It will be good to kind of regroup [during the break]," center Sidney Crosby said.

While many of the Penguins will head to vacation spots for a few days, center Evgeni Malkin and defensemen Kris Letang are off to Montreal for the NHL's All-Star festivities. Whether Crosby will accompany them isn't clear.

Crosby has been nursing a knee injury and was struck twice above the left wrist by shots last night. He was scheduled to be examined by a doctor after the game, and there was no immediate word on his status for the All-Star Game.

Crosby was hit for the first time about 15 seconds into the game, when a shot by Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason caught him on underside of his forearm, sending him to the bench.

Crosby returned in time, however, to help set up the Penguins' only goal. Malkin scored it when he collected a Boucher rebound near the left post and, on his second try, jammed it past Ward on a power play at 2:33.

The Penguins subsequently survived a two-man disadvantage that lasted 92 seconds -- a kill highlighted by several excellent saves by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and a faceoff win by defenseman Mark Eaton -- and remained in front until Ray Whitney scored on a slap shot from the top of the left circle during a power play at 14:30.

Carolina ran up a 13-1 edge in shots during the first half of the second period, and Eric Staal got the winner when he steered a Justin Williams feed by Fleury from the right side of the crease at 8:01.

"We lost a battle in front of the net," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "It's not about Xs and Os. There are times you have to battle, and we lost that battle and they scored the winning goal."

The Penguins had a few chances to pull even during the third -- Letang hit the right post during a power play 35 seconds into the period and Miroslav Satan got off a close-range shot from in front about 6 1/2 minutes later -- but failed to to capitalize on them.

Their best opportunity to force overtime came when Gleason got a double-minor for high-sticking Malkin at 15:45, but the Penguins couldn't manufacture the goal they needed.

"That's when you want [the power play] to step up," Boucher said. "It was there for us to tie it, and we didn't come through."

Ward then put an exclamation point on Carolina's second victory in as many nights -- a burst that came in the wake of a five-game losing streak -- by denying Malkin from the slot with nine seconds to play.

"Cam did a great job, especially in the third period on [Malkin]," Fleury said.

When the Penguins reconvene Monday, their long list of injured players should be a bit shorter. Whether more players will translate to more points remains to be seen.

"We have a lot of injuries," Therrien said. "That's the reality. Hopefully, the break will give us some time for players to get healthy, to put a healthy lineup on the ice."