Senators Fall to Penguins in Overtime in NHL Opener

Tyler Kennedy started the scoring, and he also ended it.

Kennedy's two-goal performance propelled the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 overtime victory over their Eastern Conference rival Ottawa Senators. This is the first of two games that will be played by the teams in Stockholm, Sweden this weekend.

Martin Gerber allowed a soft goal on Kennedy's wrist-shot, which was also the first shot of the game. He was able to regain his confidence after facing a barrage of shots as Pittsburgh had five straight powerplays in the first period alone.

Shean Donovan redirected Dean McAmmond's shot and tied the game at 9:13 of the period.

The Senators got a powerplay opportunity in early in the second period when Brooks Orpik went off for interference. But as Filip Kuba's dump attempt hit Chris Neil, the Penguins got a fortunate bounce and Evgeni Malkin scored a beautiful breakaway goal to give the Pens a 2-1.

The lead was short-lived, as the Senators capitalized on another powerplay chance. Dany Heatley took a slick pass from Jason Spezza and buried the puck behind Marc-Andre Fleury. Spezza scored on a shorthanded opportunity of his own to put the Senators in front, 3-2, going into the third period.

Sidney Crosby set up Rob Scuderi near the four-minute mark of the third to tie the game at three. The goal was the third of Scuderi's NHL career.

As the fans at the Globe Arena watched, they witnessed the fire and intensity of a third period at an NHL game. Scoring chances added up at both ends and there was no shortage of thunderous body checks.

Both teams had their opportunities in overtime, but it was Kennedy once again who snapped a shot from above the circle to end the game and give the Penguins a win on opening night.

Game Notes

All eyes were on the Senators in this contest. Not only because native-son Daniel Alfredsson was playing in his home country, but also because the Senators endured a major face-lift on their blue line this summer.

Filip Kuba had a strong night for the Sens, getting two assists and flirting with the 30-minute mark for ice time. He played in all situations and seemed to be comfortable playing with Jason Smith.

Smith, who signed on with Ottawa in the offseason, struggled with the puck in this game. Although he wasn't the craftiest player with the puck, his effort could not be overlooked. He played over 22 minutes and was a minus-1.

Rookie Jesse Winchester played on the second line with Chris Kelly and Antoine Vermette. The line was successful at working the puck down low and building momentum for the Senators at key points of the game. Winchester had four shots on goal and delivered many solid checks in a losing effort.

Kelly and Vermette were a very big part of the Senators penalty kill, which was 7-for-7 during the game.

Martin Gerber seemed to be fighting the puck in this tilt. Of the four goals scored, three of them were of the weak variety. Word is that newcomer Alex Auld will get the start Sunday for the Senators.

Spezza and Heatley both had a tough time getting into the game, as the team had to kill penalties for almost half of the opening period. They both came alive in the second period, as Spezza picked up a goal and an assist while Heatley scored a goal on the powerplay, which went 1-for-6 on Saturday. Both players saw time on the PK during the second period.

Spezza, however, was responsible for trying to make the "impossible" move in which he turned the puck over to Tyler Kennedy. The rest is history.

Chris Neil and Jarkko Ruutu played a big part—as expected—in Ottawa's physical game. Playing with sophomore Nick Foligno, the three proved to be a solid energy line that was not on the ice for any of the goals against.

It wasn't the homecoming Alfredsson was hoping for. The 35-year-old Swede had six shots on goal, but none of them were able to crack Marc-Andre Fleury. He was also a minus-3.