Phil Kessel Registers Lone Goal as Penguins Shut Out Senators, Even Series at 1

The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins stared down a red-hot goaltender and physical, relentless defense Monday and emerged with a critical victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Pittsburgh defended home ice at the PPG Paints Arena with a 1-0 win over the Ottawa Senators to tie the series at a game apiece and avoid a daunting 2-0 deficit before hitting the road for Games 3 and 4.

Phil Kessel provided the lone goal when he followed his own blocked shot in the third period and buried a wrist shot past Craig Anderson. Anderson was otherwise brilliant with 28 saves on 29 shots as the best player on the ice for extended stretches and the primary reason Pittsburgh never fully seized control despite a 29-23 shot advantage.

While the Senators didn't have as many opportunities in the offensive zone as the Penguins, Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury still had to save all 23 shots he faced to clinch the win. He stood strong in the closing stretch when Ottawa increased its offensive pace following Kessel's goal and earned a shutout.

Fleury and Kessel shared the spotlight, especially after the right winger finally figured out Anderson.

Sam Vecenie of Sporting News responded to the monumental goal:

As the final score indicates, the goaltenders picked up where they left off after Game 1 went into overtime tied at one. They stopped a combined 18 shots in the first period and performed their best brick-wall impersonations. Fleury was especially impressive because he continued losing teammates in front of him with defensemen Kris Letang and Trevor Daley already out.

Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review noted right winger Patric Hornqvist was a last-minute scratch. What's more, defenseman Justin Schultz and right winger Bryan Rust each went to the locker room in the first period after taking a big hit. Dion Phaneuf laid out the punishment on Rust, as NBCSN showed:

Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reacted to the attrition:

Despite the injuries, the Penguins did everything but score in the second period when they constantly generated quality chances in front of Anderson and controlled play in the offensive zone.

Still, even a 12-6 advantage in shots during the second period wasn't enough to beat the goaltender, who kept his team in the game in mesmerizing fashion:

Ottawa didn't even bother with the whole shooting thing in the first 13 minutes of the final period and instead dropped multiple defenders into shooting lanes to support Anderson and preserve the tie like a soccer team parking the bus.

Kessel made sure the strategy didn't work with his charge up the middle.

Ottawa shifted into offensive attack mode in the final few minutes and drew closer in the shot category, but it was too little, too late. It will look to create more chances Wednesday at home in Game 3, where the Penguins lost both regular-season matchups.