Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - James Neal scored twice and added an assist
as the Pittsburgh Penguins took a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on
Wednesday.
Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists, while Pascal Dupuis also scored for
the Penguins, who snapped a two-game slide. Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves in
the win.
Jim O'Brien and Stephane Da Costa each scored for the Senators, who have lost
five of seven. Craig Anderson made 26 saves in the loss.
Ottawa also lost defenseman and reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson in
the game and possibly for the season with a cut to his left Achilles. Late in
the second period he got clipped by the skate of Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke when
the two were going for a puck.
"I feel terrible," said Cooke. "I'm not trying to do that, obviously. It's
happened a few times over the past few years. It's scary. I was trying to hit
him. Not like that."
He had to be helped off the ice as he was unable to put any pressure on the
leg. The team announced on its Twitter page that he will have surgery and is
out indefinitely.
"The injury is unfortunate that it happened on a nothing play," said Ottawa
head coach Paul MacLean. "It could have been potentially whistled down and we
all know who was involved in it and that's just the way it is. Injuries are a
part of the game. We're going to have it re-evaluated when we get back to
Ottawa."
With the score tied in the third period, Pittsburgh went on top as Deryk
Engelland's slap shot from the right point was tipped on net by Cooke and Neal
slammed home the rebound from the right side for his 10th of the year at the
1:52 mark.
Pittsburgh got some insurance with 8:18 to play and a tic-tac-toe play that
Crosby finished in front with an easy wrist shot into an open net for his
sixth of the season.
Fleury stopped all six shots he faced in the third to help his team grab the
win.
The Penguins got the only goal of the first period when the team kept a clear
in along the left wing and Crosby brought the puck down. From the left wing,
he dumped it over to the slot where Dupuis one-timed it home with 3:37 to play
in the frame.
Ottawa skated on a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:20 in the second period and failed
to score, but did light the lamp as the power play expired.
Daniel Alfredsson blasted a shot from the slot that went wide to the left of
the net, but Da Costa grabbed it there and was able to sneak the puck between
the pads of Fleury with 9:29 to play in the middle frame.
Just 24 seconds later, the Sens took a 2-1 lead when O'Brien's wrist shot from
the top of the left circle on the fly hit off the glove of Fleury and slid
into the net for his fourth of the year.
Pittsburgh, though, scored just under three minutes later to tie the game with
a power-play marker. Crosby had the disc along the deep right boards and sent
it to the circle where Neal's wrister sailed past Anderson.
GAME NOTES:
Pittsburgh activated defensemen Kris Letang and Matt Niskanen from injured
reserve before the game ... The Penguins traded forward Eric Tangradi to
Winnipeg on Wednesday for a seventh-round pick in the 2013 draft ...
Pittsburgh plays in Winnipeg on Friday ... Crosby's second assist was the
400th of his career ... Ottawa plays in Toronto on Saturday.
The Sports Network