Penguins Continue Win Streak, Canadiens Take on Senators

The Pittsburgh Penguins (19-8-0) hunkered down in the last seven minutes of its game against the Boston Bruins (17-4-3) on Tuesday and won 3-2. This kept the team’s win streak alive with its six consecutive games. They sit at the top of the Atlantic Division and right behind the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Canadiens (17-5-4).

Penguins Brandon Sutter celebrates his third-period goals.

Penguins Brandon Sutter was the MVP as he hit two goals in the third period to first tie it and then take the lead with under three minutes remaining in the game. Chris Kunitz kicked things off for the third period surge as the Penguins entered behind 2-0 with his 18th goal of the season to get the momentum change.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 14 shots for the team on Tuesday while Sidney Crosby ended his eight-game streak for a goal.

Crosby said of the game via ESPN, “I think in the second and third we definitely got to our game and we believed if we kept going we were going to get our chances. It took awhile but we stuck with it and it was nice to get rewarded for that.”

The team again played without reigning league MVP Evgeni Malkin. He’s out for a week or so with an upper body injury. This follows his recent injured reserve visit with a concussion.

For the Bruins Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin each scored goals in the first period while Anton Khudobin made 31 saves for the team.

The Bruins sit right behind the leading Canadiens in the Northeast Division and for the Eastern Conference, they’re in the fourth spot.

Both teams have Wednesday night off and will return to the ice on Thursday.

The Penguins will play the Toronto Maple Leafs (15-11-1) while the Bruins will go up against the Florida Panthers (7-14-6).

But the question on everyone’s mind is the key prize, the Stanley Cup. The Bruins have 5 to 2 odds to win it while the Penguins come in at 13 to 2.

For Wednesday’s NHL games, there’s three of them and one includes the Canadiens vs. the Ottawa Senators (13-8-5).

Montreal vs. Ottawa 

The Canadiens will look to extend their three-game win streak when they play their division foe on Wednesday.

In their most recent game on Sunday, they defeated the Panthers 5-2 as Michael Ryder contributed two power-play goals with an assist; P.K. Subban had three assists of his own in the game.

Canadiens Michael Ryder

Montreal has lost two of three to Ottawa (13-8-5) this season but they won 2-1 on Feb. 3 to extend their home winning streak in the series to three and they’ll look for No. 4 on Wednesday. History is on their side as they’re 4-0-1 in their last five home meetings.

This will be the teams’ last meeting in the 2013 season but a first with Ryder in a Canadiens uniform against the Senators. In his seven games with his new team, the former Dallas Star has two goals with seven assists. Unfortunately he doesn’t always play well against Ottawa as he’s gone 11 consecutive games without a point.

Ryder said of his new team via ESPN, “They brought me in to help offensively and on the power play. That’s what I want to try to do and try to help the team. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable on the ice now.”

On Monday, Ottawa suffered a 3-2 shootout loss against the Bruins. They have lost their last five of six games but over nine consecutive games, they’re 4-2-3 when determined by a goal.

Goalie Craig Anderson will probably miss Wednesday’s game–his ninth consecutive one due to a sprained ankle. Robin Lehner and Ben Bishop have been pinch hitting. Bishop has given up seven goals in his two losing starts since his career-high 44 saves in the Feb. 25 2-1 SO win vs. Montreal.

The home team again gets the win on Wednesday (-170, 5 o/u).