Penguins build big lead, hold off lowly Senators

The Penguins haven’t been perfect this season. Far from it.

There are plenty of tallies in their loss column next to their listing in the standings to verify that postulate.

But they are confident. Especially in the fact that they can play a less-than-perfect game and still come away with a victory.

Such was the case Wednesday.

Allowing 43 shots to the woeful Ottawa Senators, the Penguins claimed a 6-4 win at PPG Paints Arena.

It marked the third time in four games they have allowed 40 or more shots.

While Penguins have won three consecutive games, they’ve seen more blemishes than a near-sighted dermatologist during this stretch.

“When we don’t play the game with collective effort, with attention to detail and sufficient structure, then I think we give up shots, we give up chances, we spend more time in our end,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We don’t create as much offense through our defense. That’s been the case in the last 10 days or so.

“We’ve got to find a way to get locked in and play the game the way we’re trying to play that gives us the best chance to win. Fortunately, we were able to win tonight, but I don’t think it was our best game.”

The Penguins appeared to have the game secured through the first two periods after they raced out to a 5-1 lead. But a strong push in the final frame by the Senators, perennial draft lottery contenders, put the result in doubt until the final minute, literally.

“A team like we played tonight throws pucks from everywhere on the net,” Penguins forward Bryan Rust said. “They try to get ugly, dirty goals. You saw a lot of that. We obviously gave them some pretty good quality chances.”

The Penguins converted their chances early on.

An unlikely source supplied the Penguins with the lead 4:28 into regulation when forward Dominik Simon scored his second goal of the season. Lugging the puck up the left wing and into the offensive zone, Simon lost possession momentarily in the skates of Senators defenseman Nick Holden. Reclaiming the puck, Simon used Holden as a screen and snapped a tricky forehand shot past goaltender Anton Forsberg’s glove on the far side. Forward Jeff Carter had the lone assist.

The Senators tied the game, 1-1, at 10:14 of the first period. After Holden banked a pass from his own zone up the left wing boards, Senators forward Drake Batherson created something of breakaway and lifted a wrister on net that goaltender Tristan Jarry denied. On the ensuing rebound, Batherson fended off Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel and jabbed in a backhander past Jarry’s right skate. The only assist went to Holden.

A more traditional source supplied the Penguins with their second goal at 11:40 of the first when forward Evgeni Malkin scored his third of the season. After winning a draw in the Senators’ right circle, Malkin shuffled it back to the right point for Matheson. Surveying the zone for a moment, Matheson slid a shot/pass towards the cage. Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen, positioned in the right circle, deflected the puck on net. Forsberg made the initial save but could not deny Malkin’s wrister on the rebound. Kapanen and Matheson recorded assists.

Malkin appeared to score again on a power-play opportunity at 14:31 of the first, but the Senators issued a coach’s challenge, claiming the sequence to be offside, and wiped out the score. Despite keeping it a one-goal game, the Senators pulled Forsberg and replaced him with former Penguins prospect Filip Gustavsson.

That personnel change did little to stymie the Penguins as they made it a 3-1 game shortly thereafter at the 15:59 mark. Chasing down a puck in Ottawa’s right corner, Penguins forward Teddy Blueger backhanded it towards the net where linemate Brock McGinn poke a forehand shot from in tight that Gustavsson fended off. On the ensuing rebound, Matheson took advantage of a lethargic effort by Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot and swatted a backhander past Gustavsson’s blocker for his fourth goal. McGinn and Blueger collected assists.

A power-play goal by forward Sidney Crosby made it a 4-1 game at 11:32 of the second period. Lugging the puck from his own zone, Crosby gained the offensive zone and backhanded a pass to the right wing for Rust. Moving slightly up the boards, Rust dealt the puck back towards the crease, where Crosby took it on his forehand then flipped a backhander off the near post and into the cage for his fifth goal. Rust and defenseman Letang netted assists.

Matheson scored again at 18:41 of the second period. After gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Carter left a drop pass for Matheson, who sniped sinister wrister past Gustavsson’s glove on the far side. Carter and defenseman John Marino had assists.

The Senators began to mount their comeback attempt fairly early into the third period. Senators forward Tim Stutzle scored his sixth goal at the 1:45 mark. After forward Zach Sanford lobbed a wrister from the right half wall, Jarry fought off the puck with his right shoulder but allowed a rebound that Stutzle buried with a forehand shot. The only assist went to Sanford.

It became a 5-3 game at the 3:33 mark of the third. Corralling a puck at the left point of the offensive zone, Senators forward Brady Tkachuk whipped a spinning slapper towards the cage. The puck struck Letang, positioned in the left circle, and deflected to the far circle where Batherson settled it, pivoted to his left and fed a subtle pass to the front of the crease. From there, Senators forward Josh Norris directed the puck with this heel of his left skate into a mostly vacant cage for his 17th goal. Batherson and Tkachuk collected assists.

At 7:27 of the third period, Senators forward Alex Formenton was awarded a short-handed penalty shot but had his wrister snuffed out by Jarry’s blocker.

The Senators persisted and made it a 5-4 game only 35 seconds later during a four-on-four sequence. After Tkachuk won a one-on-one battle on the right wing wall of the offensive zone against Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, he slipped a backhand pass into the right circle for defenseman Erik Brannstrom. Despite Matheson leaning down attempting to take away a passing lane, Brannstrom was able to slip a clever backhand feed to the front of the slot, where Norris one-touched a forehand shot past Jarry’s blocker. Assists were credited to Brannstrom and Tkachuk.

Hopes of a Senators comeback were filibustered at 19:13 when Guentzel scored his 21st goal on an empty net off assists from Rust and Jarry.

Stopping 37 shots, Jarry improved his record to 20-7-4.

His teammates would like to ease the burden Jarry has had to bear as of late.

“Our net-front, especially, has been an issue,” Matheson said. “We’ve been giving up a lot in the slot and around the net. As defensemen, that’s your No. 1 job, is to be hard in front of your net, hard to play against, good on box-outs when point shots come in so that (Jarry) can see it and not give up any rebounds. That’s probably one of the biggest areas.”

While they have won 14 of their past 16 games (14-2-0), the Penguins realized there are plenty of areas in need of a course correction.

“Not ideal,” Rust said. “There were large portions of that game where we didn’t play the way we should be playing.

“We’ve got to take a look at that and kind of clean that up.”