Redemption for Ryan as Senators gain edge
Ottawa strike in OT to pip Pittsburgh in opener
PITTSBURGH: Bobby Ryan beat MarcAndre Fleury on a breakaway 4:59 minutes into overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday in Game One of the Eastern Conference finals.
Ryan took control near centre ice and raced by Pittsburgh defenceman Olli Maatta before flipping a backhander past Fleury to give the upstart Senators early control of the series.
“I knew at some point those pucks I’d been chasing all year long, they were going to come,” Ryan said after picking up his fifth goal of the play-offs. “You just want to redeem yourself. You let your teammates down [during the regular season]. Now I’m getting to redeem myself a little bit. That’s all I’m trying to do.”
Game Two is in Pittsburgh tomorrow morning (Bangkok time).
Ryan assisted on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s first-period goal. Craig Anderson made 27 saves.
Evgeni Malkin’s goal late in the third period forced the extra period, but the defending Stanley Cup champions struggled to generate any consistent pressure. Fleury made 33 stops, but let Ryan deke him out of position as the Penguins fell behind in a series for the first time in the play-offs.
Pittsburgh only had 72 hours to recharge following a draining seven-game series against Washington. While the Penguins insisted they would have no problem turning the page with a spot in the Stanley Cup finals on the line, there was a dip in intensity both on the ice and in the stands.
“We’re looking for that next play instead of putting pucks at the net,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said.
The Penguins had plenty of chances to take control but produced nothing out of four first-period power plays, including 45 seconds of a 5-on-3 that went nowhere.
Ron Hainsey hit the crossbar early and Patric Hornqvist dinged the left post but that’s as close as Pittsburgh would get to slipping one by Anderson.
“There were some good looks there,” said Crosby, who had just two shots in 23:32 minutes of ice time.
“They’re not going to give you anything but we worked hard to get our chances and we’ve got to bury them when we get them.”
The Senators last beat the Penguins in the play-offs in 2007.