National Hockey League
Ottawa 2, Pittsburgh 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, March 20, 2023
Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees: T.J. Luxmore, Peter MacDougall
Linesmen: Ryan Galloway, Brad Kovachik
Attendance: 17080

Goaltender Dylan Ferguson made 48 saves in his first NHL start and Drake Batherson scored a power-play goal with 2:09 left in regulation to give the visiting Ottawa Senators a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.

From the top of the crease, Batherson fended off Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin and swatted the puck inside the left post for the winner.

Thomas Chabot also scored for the Senators (34-31-5, 73 points), who snapped a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) but have earned points in back-to-back games.

Ferguson, 24, had made one previous NHL relief appearance, in November 2017 while with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Rickard Rakell scored for the Penguins (34-26-10, 78 points), who have lost four in a row.

Their defeat combined with Florida's win at Detroit dropped Pittsburgh out of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Panthers for the second wild card. The Penguins are trying to extend the NHL's longest active streak to 17 straight postseason appearances.

Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry made 19 saves.

The Penguins played without four regular defensemen -- Dmitry Kulikov, Jeff Petry, Jan Rutta and the most recently injured, Marcus Pettersson.

Chabot gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 16:46 of the first period. Near the right point, Chabot took a feed from Claude Giroux and wove down the near circle, eluding Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin. He then flipped the puck far side past Jarry's blocker.

At the end of two periods, Pittsburgh had peppered Ferguson with 32 shots to no avail. Late in the second, the Penguins had a huge advantage in puck possession for several minutes, aided by two Senators icing calls, but Ferguson held firm.

Ottawa entered the third with one goal on 13 shots.

Included in Ferguson's big saves were uncontested shots by Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel and Malkin.

Rakell finally broke through for the Penguins, tying it at 14:39 of the third. From the low slot, his shot hit the right post and squeaked through despite strong coverage by Ferguson.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Ottawa   Pittsburgh
Drake Batherson 1 Points Rickard Rakell 1
Drake Batherson 1 Goals Rickard Rakell 1
Claude Giroux 1 Assists Pierre-Olivier Joseph 1
Drake Batherson 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Dylan Ferguson .980 Save Percentage Tristan Jarry .905
Dylan Ferguson 48 Saves Tristan Jarry 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Ottawa 21 2 1-2 3-3 6 28
Pittsburgh 49 1 0-3 1-2 4 38
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Penguins have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .400 after a loss.
  • Ottawa will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Senators have a W/L % of .529 after a win and .444 after a loss.