The Pittsburgh Penguins had their six-game winning streak snapped on Monday night at home.
Pittsburgh hosted the Ottawa Senators, and although the Penguins led 1-0 after the first period and were tied 1-1 after the second, the team didn’t like their play. The Penguins were outshot 22-10 after 40 minutes, as star defenseman Erik Karlsson said the team wasn’t happy with their start.
“I don’t think that we played the game that we have been for the past six weeks,” Karlsson said postgame on Monday. “This was probably one of the very few games where we couldn’t seem to figure out how we wanted to play. I don’t think anyone in here, myself included, feels very good about how we started.”
Ottawa ended up breaking the tie early in the third, but Pittsburgh scored just over two minutes later. Yet, the Senators broke the tie with just over five minutes to go which ended up being the game-winner.
“I think when you come out flat for two periods and you’re still in the game, you have a chance to win,” forward Blake Lizotte said on the team’s effort in the third period. “I think there was a little bit of juice there, but overall, you’re not going to win many hockey games playing like that over 60 minutes.”
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Penguins head coach Dan Muse also agreed with his players, as he felt like the team played flat for the entire game.
“It was flat, it was execution, races, battles,” Muse said. “I think (Silovs) had a really strong game, and our penalty kill did a good job. Outside of that, I don’t think there’s much else I’m walking away here liking.”
With the loss, the Penguins are 28-15-11 and remain in second place in the Metro division. Pittsburgh will return to the ice on Tuesday on the road against the New York Islanders.
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