In the race for wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference, a chasing duel broke out between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators on Friday night at the PPG Paints Arena. In the second part of this “home-and-home” – the Senators had won two days earlier in Ottawa 5-4 aet – the Penguins now prevailed 4-1 in Pittsburgh and thus kept a competitor at a distance. Strikers advanced to match winners Jake Guentzel. Meanwhile, there was a curious family reunion in the penalty box.
Guentzel puts a three-point game on hold
Guentzel delivered a great ice hockey game that evening: The 28-year-old American delivered a three-point game and brought about the decision himself with a brace (2-1-3). Pittsburgh’s striker made it 3-0 in the second half (38′) and finally put the lid on it in the third period with his 20th goal of the season to make it 4-1 (47′).
Accordingly, Guentzel was also named player of the game. In 16:43 minutes of ice time (including 2:22 on the power play), he made the most attempts of any Penguins player with five shots on goal. Previously, Guentzel had the power play goal from Rickard Rakell presented to 1:0 (12th), only through at 2:0 Jason Zucker only 43 seconds later (12th) Guentzel was not directly involved.
Guentzel is only the fourth Penguins player in the past 20 years to break the 40 point scorer mark in six straight seasons. The other three are Sidney Crosby (eleven consecutive seasons, from 2012/13 to 2022/23), Evgeni Malkin (seven seasons, from 2013/14 to 2019/20) and Chris Kunitz (six seasons, from 2013/14 to 2019/20). He currently has 42 points (20 goals, 22 assists) after 41 games.
Video: OTT@PIT: Guentzel scores his second goal
Jarry shines against trigger-happy Senators
Pittsburgh’s goalie also deserved special praise Tristan Jarrywho repelled 44 of 45 shots on goal and thus came up with a catch rate of 97.8 percent.
It was his first game since the Discover NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2 in which he sustained an injury and missed seven games as a result. “I’ve always had a good view of the puck today,” Jarry said. “Lately I’ve had a lot of free time and it’s never easy when you have to watch games and you can’t be on the ice with your teammates.”
Especially in the third third Ottawa threw everything forward again, increased the pressure enormously and had a shot ratio of 21:12. Only attackers remained with the Senators Mathieu Joseph and defender Travis Hamonic over the 60 minutes without a shot on goal. By the way, this statistic led defenders Thomas Chabot (eight shots on goal) and the strikers Derick Brassard (six) and Brady Tkachuk (five) on.
Video: OTT@PIT: Tkachuk scores a goal
“The lads put on a lot of pressure. We had a lot of chances but Jarry made some incredible saves,” said Ottawa coach DJ Smith. “If he hadn’t been so strong today, I think we would have scored a lot more goals.”
The German center forward Tim Stützle received the most ice time of all Senators forwards (20:46 minutes, including 2:44 in power play and 1:13 in penalty kill), had three shots on goal and put the interim 1: 3 for Tkachuk: The 21-year-old out Viersen tested Jarry with a delayed shot, Tkachuk then dusted.
Family reunion of the Josephs: double punishment and laughing parents
Two brothers also caused a curious moment: Pittsburgh’s defender Pierre-Olivier Joseph (23) faced Ottawa’s winger Mathieu Joseph (25). In a duel midway through the third period, the brothers each received a two-minute penalty for kicking each other high. Mama and Papa Joseph took it with humor in the stands: She covered her face with a laugh in the Penguins jersey, he shrugged his shoulders in disbelief in the Senators jersey and couldn’t hide his grin.
Penguins secure wildcard spot
The important win allowed Pittsburgh (23-15-7, 53 points) to secure the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference and ten points ahead of Ottawa (20-22-3, 43 points).
Before the All-Star break, the Penguins have landmark games against the New Jersey Devils (A), Florida Panthers (H), Washington Capitals (A) and San Jose Sharks (H).
The Senators, meanwhile, need points against the Winnipeg Jets (H), New York Islanders (H), Toronto Maple Leafs (A) and twice against the Montreal Canadiens (H, A) to stay within the playoff spots .
Video: OTT@PIT: Zucker extends the lead