Penguins ‘Skated’ By Senators, Tkachuk Finishes Pens in OT

KANATA, Ontario — Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang beat Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark with a soft wrister from about 50 feet through a screen to stave off a regulation loss and tie the game 2-2.

However, Ottawa stalwart Brady Tkachuk ripped a wrist shot through Tristan Jarry’s five-hole for a 3-2 overtime win at the Canadian Tire Center Saturday.

Early in the third period, Senators (15-13-2) winger Drake Batherson was able to burrow beneath a pair of Penguins defensemen near the crease and redirect Thomas Chabot’s hard pass into the net with his skate into the net for the go-ahead goal.

But the Penguins didn’t fold, forcing OT with numerous scoring chances and Letang’s seventh tally of the season.

The Penguins (13-14-5) didn’t challenge as Batherson (13) didn’t make a kicking motion but simply extended his skate to deflect the puck into the net at 6:38 of the third period looked like the game-winner until Letang’s tally at 12:42 of the third.

The Penguins outshot Ottawa 30-27, but for the fourth straight time at Canadian Tire Center, the two teams needed extra time.

The Penguins are nothing if not creatures of habit. Just as they’ve done so often this season, they yielded an early goal before the opposing team reached their fifth shot. Ottawa scored on their fourth shot Saturday when Kris Letang left his spot to cover Tim Stutzle in the slot, but Sidney Crosby was also headed that way.

However, that’s not where the play ended.

The blown coverage left Claude Giroux alone in front of the Penguins’ net. Giroux deked Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry, who slid from the crease and ended on his stomach several feet from the net.

However, that’s not where the play ended.

Giroux then circled the Penguins net with Crosby playing goal. Jarry recovered in time to attempt to make a save on Giroux on the far side. All five Penguins players collapsed on the net.

However, that’s not where the play ended.

Defenseman Thomas Chabot uncovered in the left circle and his shot dribbled through Jarry’s pads at 7:34 of the first period.

That was the end of the scoring for a long time. The Penguins failed to generate any sort of momentum for the remainder of the first period, while Ottawa titled the ice.

Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark, who stopped all 32 shots he faced on Friday on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes, was unbeatable in the first two periods. Ullmark played both ends of Ottawa’s back-to-back because scheduled starter Anton Forsberg tweaked something before warmups and was unavailable.

The emergency goalie was Zach Dietz, a goalie from the local University of Ottawa, who was pictured showing up to the arena in a Josh Norris Senators jersey. He was not needed Saturday.

Ullmark wasn’t really needed for most of the first two periods, either. Until 14:30 of the second period, the Penguins had nary more than a few moments of zone time and few scoring chances.

Perhaps not coincidentally, around 14:30 of the second period, the Penguins had a mere 10 shots on goal when coach Mike Sullivan became visibly irritated on the bench, yelling toward several players before shaking his head and turning away.

The Penguins had 10 shots in the final five minutes of the second period, but the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner again robbed the Penguins when he stopped Sidney Crosby, who was bearing down on the net at full speed, with a blocker save.

Michael Bunting had the best Penguins chances of the night. He led all players with six shots.

Jarry stopped 25 of 27 in regulation. Ullmark stopped 28 of 30 before overtime.

Penguins Notes

Defenseman Marcus Pettersson left the game at 16:30 of the first period with a lower-body injury. He could be seen limping down the tunnel.

After allowing another early goal, Jarry stopped the next 16.

After finding a spark at 14:30 of the second period, the Penguins dominated the next 10 minutes, claiming an overall +12 shot attempt count, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. The Penguins finished regulation with a 14 shot-attempt advantage.

Letang, Crowsby, and Rickard Rakell began overtime for the Penguins.