Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 14th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The Ottawa Senators will face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, coming off of a strong performance and a couple of notable achievements. This is largely due to the efforts of their superstar captain, Sidney Crosby, who played a key role in their dominant 9-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Crosby's impressive performance included setting up three goals and surpassing Hall of Famer Gordie Howe for fifth place in all-time assists by a player with one team. With a total of 1,026 assists, he is now just seven behind fourth-place Mario Lemieux.
Thursday's game marked Crosby's 65th career three-assist performance, and at 37 years old, he has already accumulated eight goals and 22 assists this season. He has also been a formidable opponent for the Senators, averaging 1.16 points per game in 49 career matches against them. In fact, the Nova Scotia native has recorded 57 points (19 goals, 38 assists) against Ottawa, with points in eight of their past 10 meetings (three goals, 11 assists). This ties him with Jaromir Jagr for the most points by a Pittsburgh player against the Senators.
Crosby's contributions were crucial in Bryan Rust's impressive four-point night, which included his sixth career hat trick. Rust, who assisted on two of Crosby's three goals, expressed his excitement for the memorable game and the team's strong performance. He currently has 12 goals and eight assists in 24 games this season, while defenseman Kris Letang has also been a key player with eight points (four goals, four assists) in the past six games.
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Despite the Penguins' recent success, their top scorers Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have only scored one goal between them in the past eight games. As they face off against the Senators in Ottawa on Saturday, fans may be in for an exciting game as the past three meetings between these teams have all gone into overtime, with Ottawa winning each time. The Senators have also won their past four games against the Penguins and five of their last six matchups since the 2022-23 season.
The Senators also have a strong scorer on their team in right wing Drake Batherson, who recorded three goals and an assist in their 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. This was his second career hat trick and the first natural hat trick for an Ottawa player since captain Brady Tkachuk achieved the feat in 2021. Batherson currently has 12 goals and 20 assists in 29 games this season, making him a formidable opponent for the Penguins.
Fans showed their appreciation for Batherson's performance by throwing hats onto the ice, and coach Travis Green praised the gesture. However, he also acknowledged the challenge of keeping his team focused and maintaining momentum. The Senators have been particularly strong on home ice, with center Tim Stutzle recording seven goals and 18 assists in 16 games in Ottawa this season.
In their most recent game on Friday, the Senators continued their success at home with a 3-0 shutout against the Carolina Hurricanes. Shane Pinto scored twice and Linus Ullmark recorded his second shutout of the season and 10th of his career. With their strong performances and recent victories, both the Penguins and the Senators will be looking to continue their success in Saturday's game.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators Recap APR 7TH 2015
OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators dramatically rallied from a three goal first period deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime at Canadian Tire Centre Tuesday night.
Winger Mark Stone's second of the night with 2:17 left in the extra session gave the Senators playoff hopes life, while preventing the Penguins from clinching a post-season berth.
Ottawa is now tied with the Boston Bruins for the final wild card spot, but the Bruins have a game in hand and win the tie-breaker between the two teams.
The Senators are also one point back of the Penguins, and two behind the Detroit Red Wings.
Senators winger Mike Hoffman fired a wrist shot from the point with 1:48 left in the third to complete Ottawa's comeback from a 3-0 first period deficit.
The Penguins successfully killed off a too many men penalty they took with 29 seconds left in the third, but Stone sealed the deal with a hard wrist shot from the slot behind Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored for the Senators.
Center Sidney Crosby, winger Beau Bennett and winger Patric Hornqvist scored for the Penguins.
Fleury made 40 saves while Senators goalie Andrew Hammond stopped 25 shots to improve to 18-1-2.
Down 3-0, the Senators stirred to life when Pageau scored a shorthanded goal at 14:41 of the second period. Pageau sped over the blue line from the right side and centered a pass that went in off Pittsburgh defenseman Derrick Pouliot.
The Senators had a second chance on the same shorthanded situation, but Fleury made a great save off center David Legwand.
The Senators crept to within one 34 seconds into the third when a Crosby pass to winger Daniel Winnik in the defensive zone was mishandled and wound up with Stone in the slot. He beat Fleury with a shot to the stick side.
Crosby scored on the game's first shot on goal when he rifled a slap shot through Hammond from the left wing face-off circle 10 seconds after the opening face-off.
The Penguins made it 2-0 at the 5:16 mark off a Senators giveaway in the defensive zone. Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Cole found Bennett and he cut to the front of the net through open space before putting the puck past Hammond, just as the Ottawa goalie was being knocked to the ice by a crush of players.
The Penguins went up by three when Hammond made an acrobatic save off a Crosby backhand only to have Hornqvist knock in the rebound.
Senators captain Erik Karlsson was a minus-3 in the first period.
NOTES: Penguins D Kris Letang missed his fifth game with a concussion. But Letang has resumed training and coach Mike Johnston said he could be available for the playoffs if Pittsburgh qualifies. ... Senators RW Chris Neil is practicing with the team and cleared for contact, but it's unlikely he plays again during the regular season unless the team suffers an injury at the position. ... Penguins D Christian Ehrhoff missed his seventh game with an upper-body injury, but Johnston said he's skating in Pittsburgh and could rejoin the team this weekend. ... Senators D Erik Karlsson needed one goal on Tuesday to break the record for most goals by an Ottawa defenseman he established two days earlier when he scored his 21st against Toronto. The All-Star defenseman had one assist in the win, but no goals. ... Senators RW Bobby Ryan entered the game with one goal in the previous 17 games.