Penguins-Senators postgame

Sunday, 27 January 2013 22:00

Written by Shelly Anderson

Final score: Penguins 2, Senators 1 (SO)

Why it matters: The Penguins snapped a two-game losing streak and avoided falling below .500. Even though it's early, chasing down teams could be difficult in this shortened season.

In a nutshell: The Penguins still showed some problems at times with puck management, but got some timely defensive gems and strong play by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Evgeni Malkin set up James Neal for the Penguins' only regulation goal, and all three shooters – Neal, Sidney Crosby and Malkin – scored in the shootout.

Turning point: Penguins defensemen Deryk Engelland and Paul Martin broke up great scoring chances by Ottawa in overtime.

Under the radar: With defenseman Matt Niskanen (unspecified, further evaluation Monday in Pittsburgh) out of the game by the end of the first period, the Penguins' Brooks Orpik logged 28:28 and had 9 blocked shots.

The brightest star: Neal had the regulation goal and a shootout goal for the Penguins. He also had five hits.

The last word: Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury: "I think we needed a good 60-minute game. We got a good 65-minute game tonight. Guys were careful defensively."