Pens hold off Sens to even up Eastern Conference final
The Ottawa Senators are fit to be tied.
The Eastern Conference final is down to a best- of- three after the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins served notice they aren’t surrendering their title without a fight as the Senators dropped a disappointing 3-2 loss in Game 4 Friday night at the Canadian Tire Centre to tie the series at 2-2.
Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray, who led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup last spring, made his first start of the post-season in place of Marc- Andre Fleury and though they tried hard the Senators couldn’t erase a three- goal deficit as only Tom Pyatt and Clarke MacArthur were able to score for Ottawa.
Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby led the attack along with winger Jake Guentzel while Brian Dumoulin and Olli Maata also scored for Pittsburgh. This wasn’t Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson’s best performance in these playoffs but the push by his teammates to get back into the game was too little, too late.
Pyatt brought the club to within a goal with 5: 01 left in the third when captain Erik Karlsson’s shot from the point was deflected by Mike Hoffman before hitting Pyatt’s skate to bounce by Murray. The Penguins had been trying to protect the lead and that got the Senators to within striking distance.
The power play was a big reason why Ottawa couldn’t get it done. The Senators stretched their slump to 0- for-25 in the last nine games when they went 0- for- 4 with the man- advantage — including one in the final minute. The TV cameras caught a frustrated Karlsson upset with centre Kyle Turris after a power play in the second.
The Senators were trying to push Pittsburgh to the brink of elimination but they were well aware the Penguins wouldn’t go quietly into the night.
“We know what’s at stake,” defenceman Marc Methot said before the game. “You can only stick to your game plan and hope for the best and try to maintain in your discipline in your game plan and your mentality. But we’re playing against a serious opponent and maybe they were off a bit the last game.
“We know with all the talent, and all they world-class talent, they have on that team that this is something you can’t take lightly.”
The Senators were down 3-1 after the second after MacArthur’s third of the playoffs with 1:38 left in the period allowed the club to get on the board. Until he redirected the puck by Murray, it looked like he was going to be unbeatable. That brought some life into the building because it hadn’t been pretty until then.
The Penguins pulled out to a 3- 0 lead when Dumoulin’s shot appeared to bounce off Dion Phaneuf ’s skate on Anderson’s glove side. The Senators’ faithful weren’t happy with their club’s effort and they had right to be upset because this wasn’t what anybody expected with so much on the line.
Crosby, who hadn’t been much of a factor in the first three games, scored his second of the series at 7: 41 of the second on the power play to give the Penguins a 2- 0 lead. Left alone down low in front of the Ottawa net, Crosby got a couple of chances to beat Anderson on the glove side.
A late goal by Maata on Anderson, and certainly one he’d like to have back, gave the Penguins a 1- 0 lead after the first. Pittsburgh wasn’t the least bit pleased Ottawa ended up with a power play after Bobby Ryan hit Chad Ruhwedel in the corner and Ian Cole got the only minor after he stepped in to defend his teammate.
Outshot 14- 9 by Pittsburgh, Maata beat Anderson on the stick side with only 46 seconds left with the Penguins breaking in on an odd- man rush. It didn’t look good on Anderson and he had been solid up until that shot beat him. It’s the ninth time in these playoffs the Senators have given up the opening goal.
Karlsson wasn’t happy because he had been slashed only seconds earlier with no call.
The decision to start Murray came as a surprise.
But something had to change for the Penguins after Fleury surrendered four goals on nine shots in a 5-1 loss in Game 3 Wednesday because what Pittsburgh had done in this series wasn’t working very well.
He looked sharp from the start by making big stops on Derick Brassard and Viktor Stalberg early as the Senators poured on the early pressure and it allowed the Penguins to get their feet under them.
“To duplicate ( Game 3) is going to be hard, but we’ve got to have the same mindset, dedication and focus to start the game,” Karlsson said before the game.
The Senators and Penguins will faceoff in Game 5 of the series Sunday at 3 p.m. at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.