In the longest game of the 2010 playoffs so far, the Ottawa Senators got a goal from the unlikeliest of heroes, as enforcer Matt Carkner ended a triple overtime thriller at Mellon Arena to keep the Sens’ playoff hopes alive for at least two more days. Ottawa goalie Pascal Leclaire had a strong showing in net, stopping 56 Pittsburgh shots and most importantly, all 17 shots the Pens scattered throughout overtime.
The urgency of the Senators’ current position showed in their style of play in this one, as they came out playing like a team on the brink of elimination, netting two goals in the first and outshooting the Penguins 10-9 in the period. Mike Fisher opened the scoring with a powerplay goal from deep in the offensive zone. Jarko Ruutu put Ottawa up 2-0 just over a minute later, crashing the net and slipping a puck through Fleury and in. Kris Letang cut the SEns’ lead in half with a beautiful shot on the powerplay late in the period.
In the 2nd, there was a bit of controversy, as Chris Kunitz stuffed the puck in, but the goal was initially waved off as the ref thought he saw the net come of the moorings. After an official review from the goal booth, however, it was clear that the net was rocked on the goal, but never fully came off the pegs, and the goal stood. Sidney Crosby scored his 5th goal of the series in the 3rd, slapping a loose puck past Leclaire as he fell through the slot.
Peter Regin answered for the Senators less than 90 seconds later, blasting a slap shot from the top of the circles for his 3rd goal of the series, and the game remained tied for the next 56 minutes. Both Fleury and Leclaire turned in some great saves in overtime, but the pace of the game wasn’t quite as hectic as has been the case in some of the other overtimes in this postseason. Both teams showed a great deal of restraint choosing mostly to play it safer and wait for chances to present themselves than force the issue. Just when it looked like it might go all night, Carkner’s wrist shot from the point ticked off someone or something in the slot and fluttered past Fleury to send the Pens’ faithful home tired and disappointed.