Ottawa Brings Out the Very Worst in Penguins … Again

The Pittsburgh Penguins showed what they are capable of during their 5-3 victory against Edmonton Thursday.

They did it again against Ottawa less than 48 hours later.

Just in the entirely different — and infinitely less impressive — way.

The Senators embarrassed them, 5-0, at PPG Paints Arena Saturday, denying the Penguins an opportunity to at least temporarily claim one of the wild-card playoff berths in the Eastern Conference.

“We got outplayed tonight,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We didn’t play well enough.”

The Penguins (18-18-8) are 0-3-3 in their past six games against the Senators, who had been in a 1-5-1 rut before making the trip here.

Although a strong start had been one of the keys in the Penguins’ victory against Edmonton, which was 7-1-1 in its nine games before taking on the Penguins, they didn’t come close to replicating that against Ottawa.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven put his team in front to stay when he beat goalie Alex Nedeljkovic from the left side of the high slot at 3:16 of the opening period on Ottawa’s first shot of the game, a recurring problem for the Penguins this season.

Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and Ottawa center Tim Stutzle had been battling in the crease near Nedeljkovic when Kleven scored, and the Penguins challenged that Stutzle was guilty of goaltender interference.

The challenge was denied after a video review, and the Penguins were assessed an automatic delay-of-game minor.

They got through the first 1:58 of the penalty without yielding a shot, but Shane Pinto made the one he got at 5:14 count, driving a shot past Nedeljkovic from just above the right hash.

Longtime Pittsburgh Penguins nemesis Claude Giroux got the primary assist on both goals.

The Penguins got a chance with the extra man when Ottawa’s Drake Batherson was sent off for high-sticking Noel Acciari at 8:55, but the power play never looked to be in synch and generated just one shot on Senators goalie Leevi Merilainen.

Although Matt Nieto of the Penguins was penalized for slashing at 11:18, the Senators’ power play lasted only 25 seconds before Stutzle was called for tripping Acciari.

The Penguins got their second opportunity with the man-advantage when Neldeljkovic and two Senators, Cole Reinhardt and Batherson, received unsportsmanlike conduct minors after exchanging unpleasantries at 15:19.

Ottawa had barely returned to full-strength when winger Nick Cousins was called for boarding Blake Lizotte at 17:53. This time, the Penguins not only failed to score, but gave up a shorthanded goal.

Pinto got it with 55.9 seconds to go before the intermission, burying a shot behind Nedeljkovic from inside the right circle to cap a two-on-one break against Erik Karlsson.

It was just the second shorthanded goal the Penguins have given up in 2024-25.

The Penguins then put an exclamation point on one of their worst 20-minute stretches in recent memory by having Sidney Crosby pick up a slashing minor as the period expired.

Ottawa needed 41 seconds of the middle to capitalize on that one, as the puck squirted out to Batherson and he tossed it into the net after an extended skirmish in and around Nedeljkovic’s crease.

Nedeljkovic thought he had a puck covered in the crease at 7:06, but Stutzle saw that it was still loose and swept it into the net to make it 5-0.

That one prompted Sullivan to replace Nedeljkovic, who gave up five goals on 17 shots, with Tristan Jarry, who stopped all five shots he faced.

Jarry is expected to get the start when the Pittsburgh Penguins face Tampa Bay Sunday at 5:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.