Senators end seven-game winless skid with OT thriller over Penguins

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SENATORS 2, PENGUINS 1 (OT)

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That sigh of relief you heard across the city Tuesday night came from the Canadian Tire Centre.

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The Ottawa Senators stopped their season-high seven-game winless skid with a 2-1 victory over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins as Drake Batherson scored the overtime winner.

Batherson scored his career-high 23rd goal of the year to seal the win.

Mike Bunting tied it up with 22.6 seconds left in the third as he was able to break Joonas Korpisalo’s bid for a shutout. The league reviewed it to see if there should have been a stoppage earlier, but it was ruled a good goal.

“Korpi was playing so great and we wanted to get him the shutout,” Batherson said. “They tie it up with 20 seconds left, I feel like that’s been the story all year with teams tying it up late. Overtime was back-and-forth, I thin the fans got their money’s worth. That was a good outcome.”

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Jake Sanderson took a pass from Mathieu Joseph and fired it by Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry at 11:06 of the third to break the 0-0 tie. That should have been enough, but the Senators couldn’t close it out in the third.

The Penguins came into this game with only one win in their last seven games and wanted to tighten up defensively after being outscored 15-1 in their last three games.

Korpisalo came into this game without a win in seven straight. His last victory had come on Feb. 10 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had posted a 2-5-1 lifetime record versus the Penguins in eight appearances with a 3.02 goals-against average and an impressive .912 save percentage.

It looked like the Senators had finally opened the scoring with 15:52 left in the third. Claude Giroux fired a shot from the slot that beat Jarry on the stick side, but the Penguins challenged immediately.

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The situation room ruled that Joseph, who was battling with Pittsburgh’s Marcus Pettersson in front, had interfered with Jarry. That was unfortunate on a night people were cheering for something to cheer about.

“It’s been awhile. It’s been frustrating for sure, but we were resilient,” said Sanderson. “We’re trying to stick with it. For our fans, we’re going to battle until the end here, no matter what.”

OFF THE GLASS

This was sellout No. 15 of the season with 19,236 on hand. The Senators had 15 all of last year and they should have a few more before the end of the season …. Through 40 minutes, the Senators were outshot 25-19 and there wasn’t a whole lot in the way of scoring chances. There just wasn’t a whole lot of action and the Senators went lengthy stretches in the first and second periods without even registering a shot … The Senators did everything but score on a second-period power play. The club didn’t record any shots because it missed the net more than once … Tim Stutzle made a great rush around Kris Letang six minutes into the second to create a scoring chance … The Senators started the second with a power play after Crosby tripped Stutzle with four seconds left in the first. Crosby wasn’t the least bit pleased that Stutzle was taken down by his skate. The Senators weren’t able to do anything with the power play … This started a stretch of eight games in 13 days for the Senators.

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AROUND THE BOARDS

The Senators and Penguins played to a scoreless tie after the first. Ottawa was outshot 12-6 by Pittsburgh and Korpisalo made some good stops, but the Senators did a good job keeping those to the perimeter. “After the first period (Daniel Alfredsson) told me to calm down,” interim coach Jacques Martin said. “It was a good message because I’m usually not very emotional behind the bench. When you play Pittsburgh you get a little more emotional. so even at my age I’m learning.”  … There was a moment of concern when Sanderson blocked a shot at the top of his right skate and then had to push himself to the bench on one knee. He went straight to the room, but returned a few minutes later … Jarry had to make a good stop on rookie C Zack Ostapchuk on his second shift. Ostapchuk battles hard and competes for the puck. He also helped create a turnover in OT … Mark Kastelic dropped the gloves with John Ludvig only 2:17 into the first. He had delivered a hit on Jiri Smejkal and Kastelic took exception to that. He ended up with an instigator, but the Penguins had only shot on the power play.

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THE FINAL BUZZER

This is unfamiliar territory for Crosby and the Penguins.

The club isn’t used to being a seller at the deadline and entered this night eight points out of the final wildcard spot in the East. Pittsburgh dealt winger Jake Guentzel to Carolina last week.

“You go through different experiences and situations over the years,” Crosby said before facing Ottawa. “That’s a new one, but that being said, you try to learn from all the other ones and you understand it’s a business. Those decisions have to be made and it’s not easy.

“You figure that stuff can happen, it’s a business, and you try to move by it and get through it. We’ve got to find ways to win games.”

Time is of the essence, but it looks like they’re headed for a second straight early spring.

BGarrioch@postmedia.com

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