Sens stun Penguins in 5-0 drubbing

The Sens needed a win to right the ship, and boy did they get one. The game was 3-0 at the end of the first, 5-0 at the end of the second, and third period felt like a formality, with the final score staying 5-0. Shane Pinto had two goals, Claude Giroux had three assists, and Leevi Meriläinen made 30 saves in his first career shutout.

The Sens were coming off a 4-0 embarrassment against the Sabres, while the Penguins had beaten the Oilers in an impressive 5-3 win. You wouldn't have known it though coming into this game, as Ottawa scored on their first shot of the game, a point blast by Tyler Kleven that was tipped off Noel Acciari and past a helpless Alex Nedeljkovic.

Apparently it was the 9th time this season the Penguins allowed a goal on their first shot against, an issue that 2023–24 Sens fans are all too familiar with. The Penguins challenged for goaltender interference, despite Tim Stützle being on Nedeljkovic's left while the puck was tipped to his right, and so they lost the challenge. On the ensuing powerplay, Shane Pinto took advantage in the dying seconds to give the Sens a 2-0 lead.

The game would get chippy and physical, with Nedeljkovic and Cole Reinhardt getting into it in particular, and the teams would trade powerplays. Pittsburgh has been average 5-on-5 and immaculate on the powerplay this year, but Ottawa's PK was perfect, and even scored, with Shane Pinto getting the first shortie of his career (and his second of the afternoon).

The Sens opened the second on the powerplay, and scored another goal thanks for a scramble in front, and Marcus Pettersson deciding pulling off Brady Tkachuk's helmet was more important than playing defence. Josh Norris made a spectacular pass from his backside to a wide-open Drake Batherson.

Pittsburgh might've challenged if they hadn't already challenge in the first, since they likely didn't want to risk the double-minor if they were wrong. It was nice to see the refs not penalize Ottawa with an unnecessary early whistle. The same happened not long after, when Tim Stützle saw a puck that went between Nedeljkovic's legs and he failed to cover, but everyone on the Penguins just gave up on.

That goal would do it for Nedeljkovic's day, with Tristan Jarry coming in, despite him also likely having to start tomorrow against Tampa. Josh Norris left the game briefly in the second period, and we all worried it was a shoulder/wrist issue, but no it was in fact a shot to his nuts. Unfortunately, Reinhardt actually got hurt and wouldn't return.

The third period saw the Sens mostly content to just play keep out. After two periods of fireworks and offensive chances, it was very boring. The Penguins would still get a number of medium-danger offensive chances, but Leevi Meriläinen was very good.

Thoughts:

• Reinhardt actually had a very notable half-game, punctuated by this outmuscling of Kris Letang, followed by chirping of Letang and Nedeljkovic.

• Hopefully Reinhardt's OK, because he's actually looked pretty good, arguably the best, among Ottawa's callups from Belleville this season.
• The Sens were more than happy to stand strong when the game got chippy, doing their talking with their fists and their goals. Nick Cousins does tend to take things a little far, taking both a boarding and a head-check penalty, but it was OK in a game in which the Sens' penalty kill was perfect.
• Shane Pinto with a pair of goals was nice, and he nearly had the hat-trick, except for this diving save by Bryan Rust.

• Claude Giroux got a casual three assists. I was surprised to see the home fans booing Giroux, but then I realized he's probably forever loathed here. I would've booed Mats Sundin on Vancouver or Darcy Tucker on Colorado. I just didn't expect it to turn to booing the Penguins by the end of the game.
• Leevi Meriläinen was money. It's easy to overlook in a game in which the Sens scored five, but he was calm, steady, and on top of his game. After all, he faced 30 shots, from a team with Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson, who had 6 powerplays. It's not like it was an easy shutout. Does he start the back-to-back given how Forsberg looked out of sorts on Thursday? (He shouldn't. Barring injuries, goalies should never start two games in two nights.)

Game Flow:

Heat Map: