Claude Giroux has never been afraid to go to the net in his National Hockey League career.
The Ottawa Senators’ veteran winger was reminded in the club’s 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night at the PPG Paints Arena that approach comes with pluses and minuses.
Tripped up by former Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson heading to the net, the 38-year-old Giroux scored the winner in the club’s fourth straight victory, but he paid a price by smashing into the net and then being forced to sit through a lengthy review.
The officials originally called it no goal and gave Karlsson a penalty for tripping. After looking at the replay, they awarded the Senators the goal, and then Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse challenged. Having just studied the tape, the officials didn’t overturn their call.
“It was kind of a Ridly Greig goal,” said Giroux. “It’s not as fun as people think, but it gets the job done, so we’ll take it.”
The decision to award the goal left Pittsburgh goalie Arturs Silovs, who made 28 stops and kept his club in the game, mystified. He felt he had made the original save on Giroux, and it was his momentum that pushed the puck into the net.
“I don’t know. For me, it doesn’t make sense,” said Silovs. “He came in, I stopped the puck. He’s going like 25 miles an hour going down. What do they expect me to do? Like, I don’t understand how they think, whether they’re protecting players or not, especially goalies.
“I don’t understand this ruling. What’s the decision there? I would understand if the goal’s straight away in, then I’d agree with the call. But it’s a second effort, so I don’t really agree with the call.”
Giroux said the officials felt the puck crossed the line after taking a second look at it.
“I saw the replay, and that play happened for us, like, four or five times this year,” Giroux said. “So, you know a little bit what to expect from the refs. I got tripped and saw the post coming at my face.
“I didn’t know the puck went across the goal line. But it was a big goal for us.”
While the call to award the goal wasn’t actually surprising once you looked at the replay a couple of times, the most mystifying decision was made by Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse, who opted to challenge the goal after it was awarded to the Senators.
“I didn’t get an explanation,” said Muse. “I saw it as a call — there was a slash (and Silovs) makes a save. He gets run into with no chance at all. There’s nothing else that he can do there.
“I felt like that was one we could challenge. That’s why I challenged. And I don’t have any explanation. I didn’t get anything. So nothing for you.”
Points matter, and the Senators need every one they can get.
The Senators went into Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes sitting seven points behind the Boston Bruins for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, with only two games left before the NHL goes on break for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
It’s only the second time this season the Senators have won four straight games, and they were trying to extend their streak to a season-high five victories in Raleigh. The club went into the game with a 6-2-2 record in its last 10 games.
The return of goaltender Linus Ullmark from a leave of absence for mental health reasons has helped to steady the ship. He has won both starts he’s made since returning on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, and that’s a positive sign.
Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, wanted to wait until the Olympic break to determine what direction he might take with the trade deadline set for March 6.
The club’s recent run should make Staios continue to be a buyer. He has always stated he believes in this group, and a roster move to add might send a message to the dressing room that’s indeed the case.
League executives have told the Ottawa Citizen that Staios has been speaking with other teams about acquiring a right-shot defenceman and a top-six forward. The belief is that the blueliner is a priority because veteran Nick Jensen has struggled with consistency.
The NHL’s Olympic roster freeze goes into effect at 3 p.m. Wednesday, and the sense on Tuesday morning was that it will likely be quiet because teams don’t want to carry salary during the break. We could see a flurry of moves when it’s lifted on Feb. 22.
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