Penguins Return Home, Fall To Senators 4-1

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Dec 13, 10:15 PM | Hype this story!

 

 

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Summary
Ottawa Senators goalie Martin Gerber turned in a spectacular performance to lead his team to a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The game started out with a bang, as Georges Laraque defeated Brian McGratton in a fight, which appeared to spark the Penguins.  The team, however, was unable to solve Gerber, who finished the night with 26 saves on 27 shots.

At the other end of the ice, Dany Sabourin played strong early, but let in several suspect goals before the Senators cashed in on an empty netter to seal the deal.  Sabourin stopped 22 of 25 shots in his second appearance as the team’s starter in Marc-Andre Fleury’s absense.

The loss marks the second consecutive for the Penguins, while the Senators posted their fourth consecutive win.
 
Three Stars
1 Martin Gerber G, Ottawa 26 saves, .963 Sv%
2 Jason Spezza C, Ottawa 2 goals, 2 assists
3 Dany Heatley LW, Ottawa 2 goals
 
Stat Line
Team Shots Faceoffs Power Plays
  1 2 3 OT Total Won Lost Converted Total
Pittsburgh 13 7 7 X 27 17 33 0 3
Ottawa 5 12 9 X 26 33 17 2 3
 
Scoring Summary
Per. Time Team Goal Assist Assist
1          
2 14:29
16:17		 Pit
Ott		 Kennedy
Heatley		 Malkin
Meszaros		 Whitney
Spezza
3 5:43
12:19
19:11		 Ott
Ott
Ott		 Spezza
Heatley
Spezza		 Schubert
Corvo
Meszaros		 Alfredsson
Spezza
 
 
Penalty Summary
Per. Time Team Player Penalty
1 2:30
2:30
6:39
9:42		 Pit
Ott
Ott
Ott		 Laraque
McGratton
Vermette
Phillips		 Fighting – 5:00
Fighting – 5:00
Hooking – 2:00
Hooking – 2:00
2 9:32
18:52		 Ott
Pit		 Foligno
Crosby		 High sticking – 2:00
High sticking – 2:00
3 4:15
11:19		 Pit
Pit		 Gonchar
Sykora		 Hooking – 2:00
Cross checking – 2:00

Comments

  1. KG

    Dec 13, 11:12 PM

    So do you guys think that the Pens should acquire another goalie? Sabu played fine tonight. He was not the problem. But 6-8 weeks is a lot of hockey to be relying on a career backup. This team has to make the playoffs this year. No steps back!

  2. Ashley Gallant

    Dec 13, 11:42 PM

    Okay, on the ‘goalie’ idea, I don’t want to start rumours here, but Darren Dreger said today on TSN that Ray Shero is reportedly interested in CuJo – who was just named to Team Canada’s Spengler Cup roster.

    I figure CuJo could come in for the balance of the season, it probably wouldn’t cost a lot to get him to Pittsburgh, and the Pens wouldn’t have to mortgage the future to get him…but he would have to forgo the Spengler Cup.

    I also wonder just how long MAF will actually be out. I was listening to the Sportsnet guys talk about it during the game, and they said that a high ankle sprain is worse than a broken ankle because it takes longer to heal. Add on top of things that MAF is a butterfly goalie, which adds a ton of pressure on the ankle…not to sound like it’s the end of the world here, because it’s not, but this is a bad situation.

  3. DaBich

    Dec 14, 05:01 AM

    Ashley, you can say that again! “not to sound like it’s the end of the world here, because it’s not, but this is a bad situation.” Right now, this is our glaring weakness. I wonder what Shero has in mind to mend it?

  4. Matt Bodenschatz

    Dec 14, 08:40 AM

    KG, quite simply, I think there is no plan in place for a goalie at this point. And, to be honest, I think all Shero should do is seek a better goalie than Conklin to backup/platoon with Sabourin, not someone to replace him.

    To counter what Ashley said, I want to completely shut down the Curtis Joseph rumors. He will not be a Penguin, and here’s why: he hasn’t played hockey in how long? For him to get into game form, it will take him at least 2-3 weeks, if not more. What good will that do? If Shero goes after any goalies, he will be going after someone currently in the NHL or someone in the AHL who is in an organization strong in goal. CuJo’s name keeps popping up because Shero apparently inquired about him during the summer. I really think there is little more to it than that.

    To add, I wouldn’t be too worried about Fleury missing more time at this point. The guys at TSN were doing nothing more than speculating. High ankle sprains are bad — but Talbot has one too, and he’s to be back in 2-4 weeks. It all depends on the severity of the injury and how quickly a player’s body heals. And, to be honest, I’m not sure the TSN guys know either of these. But, even if he is out longer, I don’t think that changes much. Right now, he’s out for a big chunk of the season. The season, at this point, depends on how well Sabourin does. By the time Fleury should be returning, the season likely will be decided. If it is not, then Sabourin theoretically would have been doing at least a half decent job keeping them in the hunt and could manage a few more weeks.

    As you said, Ashley, this is a very bad situation, but adding another couple weeks to the injury isn’t going to change much — at least in my opinion.

    And, Dabich, to summarize, don’t expect Shero to do much unless Sabourin really falls apart quickly. He didn’t look great last night, but he wasn’t horrible either.

  5. Ashley Gallant

    Dec 14, 09:50 AM

    You’re right in that Garry Galley probably doesn’t have all of the details concerning MAF. He was probably just speaking from experience. Who knows, maybe Fleury’s injury is as bad as Talbot’s, but they tacked on a few extra weeks because of his position.

    Unless Shero makes some kind of move, it’s all up to Sabou to carry the team for the next two months, which is a lot to ask considering he only played a little over a dozen NHL games prior to this season. Maybe when all is said and done, Sabou will be the ‘hero’ on the team.

  6. Matt Bodenschatz

    Dec 14, 10:51 AM

    I sure hope so, Ashley. I’ve seen stranger things happen — like Johan Hedberg powering the Penguins to the Eastern Conference finals in his first NHL stint, and JS Aubin/Garth snow leading the Pens to the playoffs. Sabourin has the skill to keep this team afloat, but does he have the consistency? Time will tell.

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