Empty Thoughts: Penguins 7, Senators 3

Observations from the Penguins’ 7-3 win against the Senators:

The Penguins did something they had not done in six games.

Win? Well yeah … duh. They snapped a six-game losing streak.

But we’re specifically talking about getting the first lead in a game for the first time in six games.

Throughout that wretched six-game stretch, they were chasing the opposition most of those contests.

To be precise, they were trailing for 250:40 of a possible 360 minutes during those six games.

That’s a lot.

In contrast, they had all of 6:03 of time in the lead during that six-game stretch. That came in that wild 5-3 road loss to the Capitals on Feb. 23.

On Tuesday, they pretty much led the entire game as they got the first goal 48 seconds into regulation and never looked back.

The significance of getting the first lead, and getting it so early, was not lost on the players.

“It hasn’t happened much lately,” forward Bryan Rust quipped. “The ability to get out on a lead, especially at home, the fans got behind us. It was great. We just kind of rode the momentum.

“When we got out to a 1-0 lead (early) in the game, that was a bit of a change from the recent stretch. It kind of grew some confidence throughout our group and we just kind of tried to build off of it.”

What happened

The Penguins took a lead only 48 seconds into regulation. Penguins forward Jason Zucker chased down a loose puck in the Senators’ left corner, fended off Senators forward Artem Anisimov and left a drop pass for Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin. From the half wall, Malkin slid a backhanded pass to the right point for Marino who hesitated for a moment to allow a screen to develop. As Rust and Senators defenseman Mike Reilly battled in front of goaltender Craig Anderson, Marino lifted a wrister which sailed past Anderson’s blocker on the far side. Assists went to Malkin and Zucker.

They doubled the lead only 51 seconds later. After Penguins defenseman Kris Letang pinned a puck in at the right point, Penguins forward Conor Sheary claimed it above the right circle and fed it to Dumoulin along the right wall. Dumoulin distributed it back to Sheary moving up through the left circle. Going low in the circle, Sheary attempted a pass to the top of the crease for linemate Sidney Crosby but missed the mark. The errant pass was then tapped into the cage by Reilly. Sheary was credited with his 10th goal of the season and first since re-joining the Penguins via trade on Feb. 24. Dumoulin and Letang netted assists.

Ottawa got on the scoreboard at 16:24 of the first period. Going deep into the Penguins’ left corner, Senators forward Jayce Hawrlyuk, waited for Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz to slide by on a block attempt then fed a pass to Reilly above the right circle. Reilly pumped a wrister which clinked off the left post and bounced off of goaltender Matt Murray’s head and in the blue paint. Hawrlyuk located the rebound and swept into the cage with a forehand shot for his second goal. Reilly and forward Colin White had assists.

The Penguins restored a two-goal lead, 3-1, with a power-play score at 19:15 of the first. Winning a puck battle in the Senators’ right circle, Malkin fed a simple forehand pass to the high slot for Rust. Waiting for a shooting lane to develop, Rust released a wrister that beat Anderson’s blocker. Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist was planted above the crease on a screen. Malkin and Crosby recorded assists.

A goal by Crosby at 17:21 of the second period made it a 4-1 contest. From behind the Senators’ net, Sheary fed a pass to the right corner for Zucker who reclaimed the puck after Reilly broke up the pass. Despite being shoved to the ice by Reilly, Zucker was able to deal a pass to Crosby along the boards. Faking a slapper then moving in slightly to the right circle, Crosby ripped a wrister that sailed past a screen by Sheary and beyond the reach of Anderson’s right leg on the far side for his 14th goal. Zucker was credited with the lone assist.

Only 36 seconds into the third period, the Penguins struck again. Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot tried to skate the puck out of his zone but was hounded by Crosby, Sheary and Zucker into a turnover just outside the Ottawa blue line. Zucker claimed the puck and fed it to Crosby on the right wing. From above the right circle, Crosby slid it to Sheary just inside the left circle. Sheary one-touched it to Zucker above the crease. Zucker’s redirection attempt was denied by Anderson but Zucker stuck with the play and lifted the rebound over Anderson’s left skate for his 20th goal. Sheary and Crosby netted assists.

The Senators got back on the scoreboard at 1:09 of the third. Off a cycle out of the Penguins’ right corner, White backhanded a pass to Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev at the right point. Zaitsev chucked a wrister towards the cage. Senators forward Brady Tkachuk was shoved to the ice in the left circle by Penguins defenseman Marcus Petterson but managed to re-direct the puck past Murray’s left skate for his 19th goal. Assists went to Zaitsev and White.

Former Erie Otters forward Connor Brown made it a 5-3 game at 11:27 of the third with his 15th goal. After Chabot gained the offensive zone on the left wing, he distributed a pass to Brown. Carrying the puck to above the left circle, Brown dragged the puck bad deep then ripped a wrister past Murray’s glove hand on the far side. Marino tried to poke check the puck and appeared to tip it a bit upon Brown’s release. Chabot netted the only assist.

The Penguins secured victory at 13:29 of the third. From the high slot, Malkin slid a pass to the top of the crease for forward Patrick Marleau. Zaitsev managed to strip Marleau of the puck with a stick check but Anderson was still forced to kick it out with a right skate save. Rust jumped on the rebound and shuffled in with a forehand shot. Assists were recorded by Marleau and Malkin.

Rust completed a hat trick at 17:10 of the third. After Rust pressured Brown into a turnover at the Ottawa blue line, Malkin claimed the puck in the high slot, veered toward the left circle and slid a smooth pass to Rust in the right circle. From the dot, Rust snapped a wrister through Anderson’s five hole. The only assist went to Malkin.

Statistically speaking

• The Penguins controlled shots, 35-26.

• Crosby led the game with six shots.

• Tkachuk led the Senators with five shots.

• Former Penguins defenseman Ron Hainsey led the game with 24:45 of ice time on 27 shifts.

• Letang was right behind him with 24:43 of ice time on 32 shifts.

• The Senators controlled faceoffs, 41-33 (55 percent).

• White was 11 for 15 (73 percent).

• Crosby was 16 for 28 (57 percent).

• Pettersson led the game with four blocked shots.

• Forward Chris Tierney led the Senators with three blocked shots.

Historically speaking

• Rust’s hat trick was the third of his career and the Penguins’ first this season.

• The Penguins’ last hat trick against the Senators was recorded by Rust. He had two goals on Anderson and one on an empty net in an 8-5 home win, Dec. 5, 2016.

• Rust (167 points) surpassed forward Phil Bourque (164) for 54th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Sheary (95 points) surpassed defenseman Paul Baxter (94), forward Wally Boyer (94), defenseman Ulf Samuelsson (94) and defenseman Bob Woytowich (93) for 96th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Malkin (1,069 points) surpassed forward Keith Tkachuk (1,065) for 66th place on the NHL’s career scoring list.

• Crosby’s second assist in this game was the 800th of his career.

• The Penguins are 11-0-1 in their past 12 games against the Senators.

-The Penguins lead the NHL with seven games in which they scored seven or more goals this season.

• Sheary’s goal was his first for the Penguins in 698 days. His last goal with the franchise came in a 5-4 road overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 5, 2016.

• Marleau’s assist was his first point with the Penguins.

• The Penguins’ last seven-game losing streak took place during the 2005-06 campaign between Jan. 26 and Feb. 8. That was Crosby’s rookie season and the last season the franchise failed to reach the playoffs.

Randomly speaking

• Dumoulin and Marino each returned to the lineup after missing time due to injuries.

• Dumoulin (left ankle) appeared in his first game since Nov. 30. He logged 19:52 of ice time on 29 shifts, had one assist, two penalty minutes and two blocked shots.

• If there were any issues with this skating due to such a long layoff, they weren’t apparent to the naked eye.

• Marino (face) played for the first time since Feb. 6. He logged 20:55 of ice time on 31 shifts had a goal, one shot on two attempts and one blocked shot.

• Zucker now has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 11 games with the Penguins.

• Murray made 23 saves in the victory.

• Penguins forward Brandon Tanev was scratched due to illness. That prompted a recall of rookie forward Anthony Angello from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Angello skated on a fourth line with Sam Lafferty and Evan Rodrigues.

• The third line had forward Teddy Blueger, Jared McCann and Patric Hornqvist.

• The Penguins’ power play gained some traction on the power play by going 1 for 5. They were also 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.

• Anisimov left the game after only 32 seconds of ice time. At 1:03 of the first period, linemate Bobby Ryan checked Malkin onto Anisimov after he fell in the Penguins’ right corner. Most of Malkin’s weight fell into Anisimov’s head. He was able to skate off under his own power but did not return. There was no update on his status.

Publicly speaking

• Marino on the Penguins breaking their losing streak:

“Every team goes through this. We happen to go through it now. Other teams go through it early in the season, middle of the season. There’s a lot of veteran players on this team that know to stay calm. We have the right guys in the room to do what we want. As long as we stick to our game, we’ll be fine.”

• Rust on the returns of Dumoulin and Marino:

“They were great. They’re obviously guys that mean so much to the team. They move the puck up quick, they’re great skaters, they play in the face of the opponent. A combination of all of that kind of helps us play in the offensive zone more and gives us the puck more.”

• Coach Mike Sullivan on Dumoulin and Marino:

“They’re such good players on both sides of the puck. They defend so well. They’re puck poised on the breakout. They have a lot of subtleties to their game that help us get our of our end clean with the puck. They’re just both real good players. They help us create some balance throughout our pairs. They help our penalty kill. There’s so many aspects of the game that they help us. It just makes us a better team when they’re in the lineup.”

• Sullivan is digging Zucker’s play:

“He was real good tonight. He’s been good lately. He’s just getting more comfortable with how we’re trying to play. He has a better understanding of how to utilize and leverage his speed. He’s shown an ability to finish. He can score. He had some real quality chances. … He’s starting to get some chemistry with Sid. Conor Sheary has really helped there with his quickness. He’s on pucks. And I think (Zucker has) been on pucks as well. As a result, they had the puck in the offensive zone a whole lot more. And that’s where those guys thrive. He’s getting more comfortable with our overall game and also how he needs to play within it in order to help us in games.”

• Sullivan lauded Crosby’s play after Crosby ripped his own game following Saturday’s 5-0 loss to the Sharks:

“His performance was terrific. Any time a captain and a player of Sid’s caliber takes ownership like that, it inspires the rest of the group to play for him. They want to play for each other. I give all of our leaders credit tonight. They all stepped up. (Malkin) had a strong night, (Letang) had a strong night and obviously, Sid had a great game as well. Our leadership group really stepped up. That’s the type of response game that we were looking for.

Visually speaking

• Game summary.

• Event summary.

• Highlights:

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