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SWEDE EMOTION! Penguins Win Shootout, Back in 2nd Place
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- SWEDE EMOTION! Penguins Win Shootout, Back in 2nd Place
Pittsburgh penguins game 4-3 shootout winn Ottawa Senators
KANATA, Ontario —With just 11 games to go, every win or loss could make the difference between a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth or bitterly watching them from home. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators are two of the six teams fighting for four spots in the Eastern Conference.
And for the fifth straight game between the Penguins and Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre, the teams went to overtime. Each team had breakaways in the final minute of OT, as Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark stopped Tommy Novak and Penguins netminder Stuart Skinner stopped Brady Tkachuk with less than five seconds remaining.
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Each team scored within the first two rounds of the shootout ( Drake Batherson for Ottaway, Egor Chinakhov for the Penguins), but Penguins rookie Ben Kindel scored the shootout winner.
The Penguins' win vaulted them back into second place. The Penguins' Swedish Olympians, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson , each had three points.
The game had a playoff feel as the teams see-sawed on the scoreboard, even as the Penguins took control of the game. Each team scored in the first four minutes of the third period.
Rickard Rakell scored a pair of goals Thursday and staked the Penguins a 3-2 lead with a 5v3 power play one-timer at 1:43 of the third.
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However, despite several outstanding saves, Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner made one mistake Thursday. He fumbled a rebound, which Drake Batherson pounded into the net to tie the game 3-3 at 3:58.
Coach Dan Muse challenged for goalie interference, but replays did not show much contact in the crease and, for the ninth time this season, the NHL rejected the Penguins' challenge.
A few Penguins mistakes in the first 10 minutes of the game put goalie Stuart Skinner in the spotlight. Fortunately for the Penguins, only one of their gaffes found its way into their net.
The Penguins' penalty kill struggles continued early in the first period. Ottawa winger Brady Tkachuk slipped past defenseman Sam Girard and pushed a pass across the crease to Drake Batherson (28), who snapped the tight angle shot past Skinner for a 1-0 lead at 4:28.
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Skinner made a pair of dandy saves to keep the Penguins in the game, including on the very next shift when a cadre of Ottawa forwards easily intercepted Egor Chinakhov's drop pass at the defensive blue line and Skinner made a quick pad save on Nick Cousins from 18 feet.
The Penguins settled the game and attacked the decimated Ottawa defense. Ottawa is missing three of its top defensemen, including Jake Sanderson , Thomas Chabot , and Nick Jensen .
Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson continued his torrid pace by denying an Ottawa clearing attempt along the right wall. Karlsson set up a wide-open Rickard Rakell in the slot. Rakell (16) picked the top corner blocker side on Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark for a 1-1 tie at 13:46.
The shots ended 10-10 after the first.
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Each team scored in the second period. Penguins defenseman Kris Letang lost track of Nick Cousins at center ice, setting up a two-on-one, which Cousins converted when Penguins defenseman Sam Girard blocked his pass, but Cousins one-handed the loose puck into the net at 1:50 of the second for a 2-1 Ottawa lead.
The Penguins answered less than two minutes later as Karlsson blasted a shot through a screen by Ben Kindel past Ullmark at 3:45 to tie the game 2-2.
After an even first period, the Penguins outshot Ottawa 34-23 in regulation. Skinner stopped 20 of 23 in the first 60 minutes and Ullmark grabbed 31 of 34.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was injured late in the first period. He tangled with Dylan Cozens and seemed to injure his left leg or ankle. He took one shift in the second period before leaving the game.
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