Senators shut out Penguins
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Toni Dahlman scored his first NHL goal and Patrick Lalime stopped 20 shots for his sixth shutout of the season Wednesday night as the Ottawa Senators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0. Marian Hossa, the NHL’s second-leading goal scorer, and Chris Neil also scored for the Senators, who moved within one point of Dallas for the league’s overall points lead.
The game was the Penguins’ first since the eight-player trade sending Alexei Kovalev to the New York Rangers on Monday. Three players acquired in that trade, forwards Rico Fata and Mikael Samuelsson and defenseman Joel Bouchard, were in the Pittsburgh lineup, along with defenseman Shawn Heins, acquired from San Jose one day earlier.
The trade has been highly unpopular with fans, although the Mellon Arena crowd of 14,197 was the largest in three home games for the Penguins, who have lost six of their last seven at home.
Facing his former team, Lalime was rarely tested while playing for the first time since sitting out two games with the flu. Only Toronto’s Ed Belfour (seven) has more shutouts this season.
Dahlman, a 2001 draft choice playing in his 16th NHL game, beat goaltender Johan Hedberg with a wrist shot from the edge of the left circle after taking a pass from Mike Fisher late in the second period. Dahlman was recalled from Binghamton of the AHL on Monday.
Hossa made it 2-0 just 40 seconds into the third period. He skated behind the net, fought off Bouchard and slid a shot past Hedberg for his 35th goal.
Neil converted Bouchard’s turnover into his fifth goal of the season when he fired a wrist shot over Hedberg’s glove from between the circles.
NOTES: Pittsburgh’s next game is Friday in New York against Kovalev and the Rangers. Kovalev scored for New York in a 3-1 victory Wednesday night at Florida. … The Penguins scratched center Martin Straka (hamstring) and defensemen Jamie Pushor and Hans Jonsson, while the Senators scratched Curtis Leschyshyn (groin) and Peter Schaefer (foot). . . The loss was just Pittsburgh’s fourth in 24 home games against the Senators. . . The crowd gave Mario Lemieux a standing ovation when the Penguins’ captain was honored with a video tribute for recording his 1,000th assist last Saturday at Boston. . . Pittsburgh is 12-12-1-2 at home. . . Ottawa had won just one of its five previous road games.