Mike Hoffman scored a tiebreaking goal early in the third period to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night and force a decisive Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Hoffman fired a slap-shot through traffic off a pass from Fredrik Claesson to put the Senators ahead 1 minute, 34 seconds into the third period.
Bobby Ryan also scored a rare power-play goal for Ottawa, while Craig Anderson stopped 45 shots, including 22 in the second period.
Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY
Evgeni Malkin gave Pittsburgh, vying for their second straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, the lead early in the second period, while Matt Murray finished with 28 saves.
Game 7 is in Pittsburgh today, with the winner advancing to face the Nashville Predators for the championship.
The Senators quickly forgot a 7-0 loss two days earlier in Game 5 and extended their season for one more shot at a return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 10 years.
“We bought ourselves two more days together and this team just wants to be around each other,” Ryan said. “It’s exciting.”
Ottawa were primarily looking for a return to structure in Game 6, beginning with a smoother start, which they got. Notable in a scoreless opening period were two effective penalty kills, one of which saw Viktor Stalberg get the best opportunity short-handed.
Pittsburgh had four shots with the man advantage, but Anderson stopped them all. The 35-year-old struggled through Game 4 and Game 5, allowing seven goals, but it was evident early that he had his game back in this one.
He stopped Nick Bonino off a rebound in transition, Scott Wilson off a deflected shot by Phil Kessel and Bonino again when Kyle Turris gave the puck away.
“You can’t change what happens in the past,” Anderson said. “From that moment on you have to look forward and get ready for the next one.”
Murray was also sharp. The 22-year-old, who replaced Marc-Andre Fleury after Game 3, made maybe his finest save of the first period on Derick Brassard, who found an open lane down the middle of the ice following a pass from Ryan.
The Penguins appeared to have opened the scoring just over three minutes into the second, but Trevor Daley was deemed to have interfered with Anderson following an Ottawa challenge.
Less than two minutes later, Pittsburgh took the 1-0 lead anyway off a few moments of brilliance from Malkin.
The playoff scoring leader with 24 points bounced off a check from Zack Smith behind the goal and after being stopped on his drive to the net, followed up with a nifty backhand rebound to beat Anderson.
It was the 153rd career playoff point in 142 games for Malkin, three behind Sidney Crosby for second among active players. Jaromir Jagr, who had been jarring with Hoffman a few minutes earlier, is top.
The Senators had little going until a lengthy five-on-three advantage for 1 minute, 24 seconds just past the midway point of the period.
The Ottawa power play, which had gone zero for 29 in the previous 10 games, came through with Ryan ultimately wiring a one-timer short-side to tie the game.
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