National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Ottawa 6, Pittsburgh 4
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, December 16, 2011
Where: Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees: Chris Lee, Tom Kowal
Linesmen: Greg Devorski, David Brisebois
Attendance: 19710

Jason Spezza collected two goals and two assists to record his fourth multi-point game in five contests as the Ottawa Senators skated to a 6-4 home triumph over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.

Rookie Jared Cowen scored to snap a tie during a wild eight-goal second period and matched fellow defenseman Erik Karlsson with three assists for Ottawa, which secured its third win in nine games (3-4-2).

Alex Auld turned aside 32 shots to notch his first victory of the season (1-3-2) and improve to 6-1-0 in his career versus the Penguins.

After watching a two-goal lead evaporate following power-play goals by defenseman Matt Niskanen and Evgeni Malkin, the Senators reclaimed a 4-3 lead just 66 seconds later.

Nick Foligno's wrist shot sailed wide of the net, but Cowen directed the puck past Brent Johnson for his fourth goal of the season and second in three games.

Zenon Konopka doubled the advantage with six seconds remaining in the period after winning a faceoff and quickly beating Johnson just four ticks into a power play. The fifth Senators' goal came on their 10th shot of the period, and Spezza netted his 12th goal of the season midway through the third.

Steve Sullivan had a goal and two assists and Chris Kunitz also tallied for Pittsburgh, which has dropped four of its last five games.

Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Ottawa
Steve Sullivan 3 Points Jason Spezza 4
Steve Sullivan 1 Goals Jason Spezza 2
Steve Sullivan 2 Assists Jared Cowen 3
Evgeni Malkin 1 Power Play Goals Zenon Konopka 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Marc-Andre Fleury .800 Save Percentage Alexander Auld .889
Brent Johnson 14 Saves Alexander Auld 32
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 36 4 2-4 4-5 12 30
Ottawa 24 6 1-5 2-4 10 36
Upcoming Games
  • Ottawa will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Senators have a W/L % of .533 after a win and .389 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Penguins have a W/L % of .471 after a win and .600 after a loss.