Walker scored on a one-timer from high in the left face-off circle off a pass from Sebastian Aho.
K'Andre Miller had tied it 5-5 for Carolina at 17:09 of the third period when his shot from the right circle took a deflection in front.
Jackson Blake had a goal and two assists, Nikolaj Ehlers had three assists, and Taylor Hall and Walker each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes (43-19-6), who lead the Buffalo Sabres by two points for first place in the Eastern Conference. Frederik Andersen made 30 saves.
Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist in his return from injury, and Erik Karlsson had two goals and an assist for the Penguins (34-18-16), who finished 2-1-2 on a five-game road trip. Stuart Skinner made 38 saves, and Rickard Rakell had two assists.
Crosby missed the previous 11 games after he sustained a lower-body injury during the second period of Team Canada's 4-3 overtime win against Team Czechia in the quarterfinals at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 18. He did not play in the semifinals or the 2-1 overtime loss to Team USA in the gold medal game on Feb 22.
Carolina scored short-handed to take a 1-0 lead at 9:34 of the first period. Jordan Staal chipped a lead pass off the right boards before Jordan Martinook chased it down at the top of the circles and scored on a glove-side slap shot.
Crosby tied it 1-1 at 9:57 of the second period. Rakell finished a check on Jalen Chatfield along the end boards and poked the puck free to Crosby, who scored through the five-hole on the backhand.
Blake’s 20th goal of the season put the Hurricanes ahead 2-1 at 16:51. He took a pass from Hall, cut around Penguins defenseman Ilya Solovyov in the right circle and scored through the five-hole on the backhand.
Karlsson scored during 5-on-3 power play with a slap shot from above the circles to tie it 2-2 at 59 seconds of the third period.
Hall then put the Hurricanes ahead 3-2 at 3:27. Blake made a cross-ice pass to Hall, who cut to the low slot and scored on the backhand.
Bryan Rust tied it 3-3 at 7:16. After Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin fanned on a shot, Rust got loose on a breakaway and slipped a backhand inside the right post.
Logan Stankoven made it 4-3 for Carolina with a power-play goal at 12:59, one-timing an Ehlers pass in the low slot.
The Penguins then scored twice in 23 seconds. Karlsson scored through traffic on a snap shot from above the right circle to tie it 4-4 at 14:46, before Ben Kindel took a pass from Anthony Mantha and scored from between the circles for a 5-4 lead at 15:09.
