INDIANAPOLIS - Local driver Ed Carpenter has made himself at home on the Indianapolis 500 pole. The last of nine qualifiers to take the track, Carpenter bumped Canadas James Hinchcliffe from the top spot, posting a four-lap average of 231.067 mph to win the 500 pole for the second straight year. "I felt that it was harder," Carpenter said. "It was just a different position because when I made my run last year, we didnt really have anything to lose. This year, being the last guy to go out, I think there was a little bit of pressure to not mess it up." He didnt mess it up, not at all. Carpenters No. 20 Chevrolet was the car to beat all weekend, and the hometown favourite showed no signs of rust in his first IndyCar Series race of the season. He owns Ed Carpenter Racing and decided in November to run only on ovals, where he excels. He turned his car over to Mike Conway on road and street courses, and skipped the first four races of the season. He knew he had the pole secured when he nailed the final two corners on the last lap. "I could really just kind of enjoy it knowing that we were going to be on the pole for the second year," he said. Hinchcliffe, from Oakville, Ont., will start second after sustaining a concussion last weekend in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Will Power will join them on the front row. Three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves was fourth followed by Simon Pagenaud and Marco Andretti. Carlos Munoz, Josef Newgarden and J.R. Hildebrand will be on the third row. Carpenter, the stepson of former speedway executive Tony George, was 10th in last years Indy 500. He is 11th driver to earn consecutive 500 poles and the first since Castroneves in 2009-10. "Its all about the race," the 33-year-old Carpenter said. "Hopefully, we can close the deal this year." As a single-car team last year, Carpenter was unable to get help on data and much-needed setup information. He didnt want a repeat this May, so he hired Hildebrand to drive a second car at Indy for Ed Carpenter Racing. Hildebrand nearly won the Indy 500 as a rookie in 2011, but he crashed exiting the final turn and was passed for the win by the late Dan Wheldon. "I wish we could have got him up on the front row with us, but the shootouts tough," Carpenter said. "The conditions were hard today, but having him go first today also helped me because we were able to make an adjustment." Carpenter thrived in the first year of a new Indy 500 qualifying format. He posted the top qualifying speed Saturday when the fastest nine drivers advanced to Sundays shootout for the pole. Juan Pablo Montoya had the fastest four-lap average (231.007 mph) among drivers ineligible to win the Indianapolis 500 pole and will start 10th. "We have a pretty quick car," Montoya, the 2000 winner, said. "Hopefully, my guys can learn something for the Fast Nine. I think that will put us in a good spot to start the race." Montoya was followed by reigning series champion Scott Dixon and former NASCAR champion Kurt Busch. Busch is set to race 1,100 miles in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. Busch raced in NASCARs All-Star race the night before and flew back from Concord, North Carolina, on Sunday morning. Busch was humbled when he said hed never be able to duplicate a weekend like this one — "except for maybe next week." Defending 500 champion Tony Kanaan will start 16th. Hinchcliffe appeared to have no problems in the car days after he was cleared to return for his concussion. He paced as he watched Carpenter make his final run, then his chance at the pole end when Carpenter found more speed on his final lap. He was injured last weekend in Saturdays Grand Prix when debris from Justin Wilsons car flew into the cockpit, striking Hinchcliffe in the head. He was taken away from the track on a stretcher, transported to a hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. The 27-year old Canadian was cleared to drive Thursday, and took the wheel back from pinch-driver E.J. Viso. "I had to kind of pretend that I had been here all month and take the feedback my teammates had given me at face value," Hinchcliffe said. "I knew what to expect from the car and that was a huge part of it." For the first time, IndyCar awarded points based on qualifying runs. The top qualifier on Saturday earned 33 points, second place got 32 and so on, all the way to one point for the 33rd-place entrant. The pole winner earned another nine points Sunday, decreasing to one point for the ninth-place starter. Carpenter, a Butler University alum, is an avid Indiana Pacers fan and couldnt wait to watch them play the Miami Heat in the playoffs. "Racers and Pacers right now," he said. "So go Pacers, beat the Heat." Custom Dallas Cowboys Jerseys . 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Voracek also scored the only goal for the Flyers, who fell to 0-5 in shootouts this season. Steve Mason stopped 31-of-32 shots. Final Score: Pittsburgh 1, Colorado 0 (OT) Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Blake Comeau scored at 2:24 of overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was back in the lineup after missing three games with the mumps. Teammate Marc-Andre Fleury, who tested negative for the virus, made 29 saves to earn his career-high and league- leading sixth shutout of the season and help Pittsburgh improve to 4-0-2 in its last six games. Rookie Calvin Pickard played superbly for the Avalanche, making 47 saves, including 19 in the third period to force extra time. Final Score: Carolina 4, Toronto 1 Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - The Carolina Hurricanes snapped a six-game losing streak, scoring two special-teams goals in a 4-1 win over the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. While Toronto eyed its longest winning streak in more than 11 years, Carolina jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Chris Terry and Justin Faulk, who scored while the Hurricanes were short-handed.dddddddddddd Andrej Sekeras power play tally in the third period restored the two-goal lead and Cam Ward finished with 25 saves as the Hurricanes ended the 0-6 skid. Dion Phaneuf scored for the Maple Leafs, who had a six-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the third time in their last 13 (10-2-1). They havent won seven in a row since an eight-game streak from Nov. 22-Dec. 6, 2003. Jonathan Bernier gave up three goals on 36 shots and had a personal four-game winning streak stopped. Final Score: Washington 5, Columbus 4 (OT) Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak. Michael Chaputs first career NHL goal had given Columbus a 4-3 lead with 4:25 remaining in regulation, but Troy Brouwer answered for the Capitals just 1:25 later to send the game into extra time. Fehr, Jason Chimera and Karl Alzner each recorded a goal and an assist for Washington, which earned a point for a seventh straight outing. The Caps are 5-0-2 over that stretch, which included an overtime loss to the Blue Jackets in Washington a week ago. Nick Foligno scored twice and assisted on another for Columbus, which received 31 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky in defeat. ' ' '