Michael Bunting Scores First As a Penguin in 2-1 OT Loss vs. Ottawa Senators 3/12/2024

Pittsburgh added another loss to their skid, four games in total following a 5-3 victory that had broken a three-game losing streak. The Ottawa Senators defeated the Penguins in overtime 2-1 after two scoreless periods and a 1-1 tie in the third to break their seven-game skid. Drake Batherson scored the game-winning goal, and Michael Bunting scored his first goal as a Penguin.

Penguins lineup against the Senators:

Bunting – Crosby – Rust

Smith – Malkin – O’Connor

Rakell – Eller – Puustinen

Bemstrom – Acciari – Carter

Pettersson – Letang

Graves – Karlsson

Ludvig – Joseph

Jarry

Nedeljkovic

Senators lineup against the Penguins:

Tkachuk – Pinto – Batherson

Joseph – Stutzle – Giroux

Greig – Ostapchuk – Kubalik

Smejkal – Kastellic – Katchouk

Sanderson – Zub

Chychrun – Guenette

Brannstrom – Bernard-Docker

Korpisalo

Forsberg

   The Penguins and Senators spent the first 40 minutes entirely scoreless. Pittsburgh had more shots on goal in the first two.

   Jake Sanderson opened the scoring late into the third period at 8:54 for his eighth goal of the season to get Ottawa the lead. He received a pass from Mathieu Joseph at the slot and flicked it into the net past Tristan Jarry. Earlier into the third, it appeared that Claude Giroux scored but Pittsburgh successfully challenged it for goaltender interference. With only 23 seconds remaining, Michael Bunting put the Penguins on the board for his first as a Penguin. After a shot by Evgeni Malkin deflected off Erik Karlsson, Bunting chipped in a rebound at the crease. Pittsburgh and Ottawa head into overtime to determine the game-winner.

   Drake Batherson called game at 1:47 in overtime to finish up the game for the 2-1 final. This goal marked his 23rd, a career-high for Batherson.

Tristan Jarry on seeing the puck, losses, and what type of goaltender he is with great saves in a loss: “I thought I was seeing it well, it was just one of those nights. You always wish you could do a little more in a loss and I think just bringing that same consistency every night, I think it will help the guys and we’ll start stringing together some wins,” – “No, a loss is a loss at the end of the day. We’re in a tough spot and that’s the only way you could look at this time of year. It’s tough to be in this position and we need the wins. One more save might have done it.”

Drew O’Connor on the Penguins’ overtime loss in Ottawa: “Hard to say. I think we played good for structure for the game. I think we kind of set back for stretches to the start of the third period. They were all over us and we were making some mistakes there, they were taking advantage of it and playing a lot in our zone. We just can’t have stretches like that in games, especially now. We need to be better for the entirety of the game.”

Notes:

– Tristan Jarry made 37 saves for Pittsburgh, and Joonas Korpisalo made 34 saves for Ottawa.

– In the first two periods, Pittsburgh and Ottawa combined a total of 44 shots.

– Drew O’Connor was a game-time decision, having two shots on goal and two hits in his return. He missed the past three games due to a concussion.

– The Penguins have scored one or fewer goals in six of their seven losses.

– Jake Sanderson has 31 points in 60 games this season (eight goals, 23 assists). Sanderson is the third Ottawa Senators defenseman to reach 30 points in multiple seasons before the age of 22, and he joins Andrej Meszaros (39 in 2005-06, 35 in 2006-07) and Erik Karlsson (78 in 2011-12, 45 in 2010-11)

– Zack Ostapchuk had two shots on goal, 12:44 of ice time in his NHL debut.