After recording three assists in regulation, Brady Tkachuk scored 25 seconds into overtime, lifting the Ottawa Senators to a 5-4 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
On a rush early in OT, Tkachuk found himself open with the puck to beat Pittsburgh goalie Casey DeSmith (35 saves) to give the Senators their second win in six games.
Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle each had a goal and an assist, Shane Pinto and Alex DeBrincat also scored and Thomas Chabot recorded three assists for Ottawa, which went 4-for-9 on the power play. Senators goalie Cam Talbot made 15 saves.
Evgeni Malkin had a goal with two assists and Sidney Crosby added three helpers for the Penguins, whose lack of discipline and some tight officiating helped lead to their sixth loss in seven road contests (1-5-1).
Jason Zucker, Mark Friedman and Rickard Rakell added goals for Pittsburgh, which has won just three of its past 12 games (3-6-3).
With the game tied 3-3, Tkachuk slid a short pass to Pinto, who found a seam to beat DeSmith with 9:02 remaining in regulation. It was the eighth time in club history that Ottawa recorded at least four power-play goals, and the first time since December 2005.
However, Pittsburgh answered less than two minutes later. Following a too-many-men-on-ice penalty against the Senators, Rakell corralled a high pass from Crosby, spun around and sent the puck through Talbot’s legs to make it 4-4.
A wild first period finished with the score 2-2. Zucker opened the scoring 6:36 into the game when he crashed the net to convert for the fourth time in six games.
Ottawa, though, took advantage of a four-minute high-sticking penalty on Pittsburgh’s Jeff Carter. At 7:44 into the first, Batherson sent a cross-slot pass to DeBrincat, who nailed the one-timer. Two minutes later, Stutzle scored for the high slot for his 20th goal.
Pittsburgh tied it on a power-play goal with 4:37 remaining in the opening frame. Amid a net-front scrum, Malkin’s stick was quick enough to get the puck past Talbot.
The Penguins regained the lead 3:07 into the second as Friedman drove a shot in off Talbot’s glove and in. Ottawa answered again, via its third power-play goal when Batherson chipped in a net-front pass from Tkachuk at 9:19 of the middle period.
–Field Level Media