OTTAWA — Matt Murray won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Thursday he was on the opposite end of their attack as a member of the Ottawa Senators.
Murray made 42 saves but it came in a losing cause, as Casey DeSmith made 26 saves and Jeff Carter scored the game’s winning goal as the Pittsburgh Penguins earned a 2-0 victory.
“They were dialed in on all aspects of the game and a pretty textbook game by them. We battled, we stayed in the game and if we had gotten one it could have gone in either way,” Murray said.
“I know how dangerous offensively those guys are. It was fun playing against those guys.”
Six of those saves by Murray came on Sidney Crosby who was unsuccessful in scoring the 500th goal of his career.
The Penguins captain is trying to become the 46th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals, and the second in Penguins’ history alongside Mario Lemieux.
Carter scored in the second period for the Penguins (29-11-8) while DeSmith collected his second shutout of the season and the eighth of his career. Bryan Rust scored into an empty net.
The Senators (16-23-4) were looking to get their second three-game winning streak of the season.
“It was a pretty solid 60 minutes throughout the lineup. They’re a good team, they play fast, they’re a skilled team and they got some chances,” Carter said.
“Case made some big saves for us, but I think it was probably our most complete game in a long time.”
The teams went into the final period with the Penguins clinging to a 1-0 lead, and they controlled most of the period limiting the Senators to just five shots as they searched for the tying goal.
They had chances with Murray on the bench in the final seconds, but Rust scored into an empty net at 19:48 to seal the win for the Penguins.
“I was fortunate to make some saves tonight and everyone in front of me did the rest,” De Smith said.
“We did a good job taking care of the net front and there were very few shots I had trouble picking up. It’s always a good feeling as a goalie when you’re seeing everything. It definitely builds some confidence.”
The game was scoreless through the opening despite a flurry of chances from both sides in the early going.
That trend continued into and throughout the second period as both teams combined for 46 shots but just one goal after two.
“I don’t think it was bad by any means. It was a tight checking affair. They didn’t give us a ton. That’s a real good, veteran hockey team, they stayed in front of their net. If anything, I think we could have done a better job getting at their goalie and creating some loose pucks,” Senators forward Austin Watson said.
“Other than that, Murray was great and you want to get that one for him. He was outstanding.”
The game’s first goal game at 7:25 when Carter took a cross-ice pass from Kris Letang and deposited a shot over Murray’s blocker and into the Ottawa goal.
Minutes later Carter had another tremendous chance on a short-handed breakaway but was unable to beat Murray who slid to his left and took away Carter’s backhand to forehand attempt at the post.
“I was trying to wait him out. I should try a new move because it hasn’t been working out the last few times,” Carter joked.
The Senators will conclude their four-game homestand Saturday when the host the Boston Bruins. The Penguins will face the Devils in New Jersey Sunday.
Notes - Forwards Clark Bishop and Parker Kelly along with defenceman Victor Mete were scratches for the Senators Thursday. Forward Michael Chabot was the lone scratch for the Penguins…Ottawa forward Tyler Ennis is one assist shy of 200 for is career while teammate Connor Brown needs one point for the 200th of his career…Coming into Thursday the Senators had lost 182 man-games to injury and the Penguins 173.…Garrett Rank and TJ Luxmore were the referees Thursday while Brad Kovachik and Travis Tooney worked the lines.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2022.
Darren Desaulniers, The Canadian Press
