PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - Ben Kindel scores the game winner in a shootout, the Pens move back into second place in the Metro after earning massive two points in 4-3 win.
The Penguins handed Ottawa a power play three and a half minutes into the game. The Senators took advamtage of the man advantage. Brady Tkachuk fed a pass to Drake Batherson for a one-timer goal to make it 1-0 Ottawa. Later in the period, Tyler Kleven tried to pass the puck from behind the net but Erik Karlsson stole the pass at the blue line and found Rickard Rakell for a slap shot goal to tie the game 1-1 after the first period.
The Senators took the lead back just two minutes into the second, Kleven made a great pass to Nick Cousins right at the blue line. Cousins rushed the net with Michael Amadio for a 2 on 1. Cousins attempted a pass to Amadio but the puck hit off Samuel Girard's skate, and Cousins poked it in past Skinner to regain the lead. Karlsson tied it back up with a wrist shot two minutes later.
Sidney Crosby left the game in the second period after he was checked into the boards by Cousins. Dan Muse confirmed after the game Crosby left with a lower body injury.
Dylan Cozens committed a tripping penalty with 11 seconds in the second period and then Artem Zub threw the puck over the glass for a dleay of game, to give the Pens at 5 on 3 power play. Rakell buried his second goal of the game on the power play to give Pittsburgh its first lead of the night. Batherson scored his second goal of the night to tie things back up 3-3. Pittsburgh challenged for goaltender interference, but the call was confirmed it was not interference.
"I saw he's in the blue paint, there is contact there, I felt like it effected Stu's ability to play it, the way he spins he gets his stick, that impacts the goalies ability to make a save. The league didn't see it that way and so we move on," said head coach Dan Muse after the game.
In overtime, the Pens defense came up big. Karlsson blocked a game winning shot from Tkachhuk. Rakell tracked down Tim Stützle on a breakaway chance, and Skinner robbed Stützle on another chance. Skinner made another big save on Batherson, then it was Linus Ullmark stopping the Penguins. Kris Letang fed an outlet pass to Tommy Novak for a breakaway. His backhanded shot was stopped with the pad, sending the game to a shootout.
Round 1, Batherson scored and Rakell was denied. Stützle was stopped by Skinner and Chinakov scored to tie the shootout 1-1. Round 3, Shane Pinto was stopped and Ben Kindel won it with a wrister past Ullmark.
"It was huge, for me it was the way we played the game tonight, I really liked our game. I liked our first a lot, we got better in the second period. This is what's going to happen this time of year, it becomes a little bit back and forth, a little muddy in the third period, but we stayed with it," said Muse. "There was a lot of big moments from a lot of different guys throughout the lineup. That's what you have to have this time of year to win."
"Obviously it's a big win, standings are really tight and coming down to the wire here so every point we can get is massive," said Kindel after the game.
Skinner made 26 saves in the win and he improves to 7-1 against the Ottawa Senators in his career.
"It was massive, again I thought it was a playoff style game. Ottawa needs the points, we need the points, it's so tight obviously in the East. Being able to get these two points is massive," said Skinner in postgame.
The Pens host Dallas Saturday at 5:00.
Pens are back in 2nd in the Metro with 88 points.
