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KANATA, Ontario (AP) -- The Ottawa Senators didn't do much with their game in hand over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
|  | | Daniel Alfredsson of the Senators, left, tries to dig out the puck while the Penquins' Robert Lang pins him along the boards. |
Ottawa didn't show much effort in a 4-2 loss Tuesday night to
the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Senators, who had won three straight games, remained tied with the Toronto atop the Eastern Conference at 34 points.
Defenseman Jiri Slegr scored twice in the third period to break
open a one-goal game and Alexei Kovalev had a goal and assist as
the Penguins handed Ottawa just its third loss in 14 home games.
It was Pittsburgh's first win in five attempts at the Corel Centre since a Nov. 5, 1998, victory.
"We didn't create any pressure like when we played them here the last time (a 3-3 tie Oct. 19)," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "If we put pressure on their defense, they can't make the tape-to-tape passes. Tonight, they came with speed a lot of times. They've got a lot of skilled people up front."
Milan Kraft had the other goal and Garth Snow stopped 29 shots
for Pittsburgh, which won for second time in four games.
"It's a win against a very good team," Slegr said. "We played
a smart road game; put the puck in deep."
Shawn McEachern and Marian Hossa scored for Ottawa and Patrick
Lalime finished with 33 saves.
After Kraft and McEachern exchanged power-play goals late in the
first and early in the second, respectively, Kovalev gave
Pittsburgh the lead by putting Robert Lang's cross-ice pass behind
Lalime.
In the third period, Slegr fired a shot from the faceoff circle
to the left of Lalime with 3:31 remaining for the eventual
game-winner. He added a short-handed goal less than two minutes
later to make it 4-1.
"You have to be a different team (playing catch-up)," said
Senators defenseman Sami Salo, who returned to the lineup after missing one game with a bruised left knee.
"The problem was we didn't stick to the game plan," said
Hossa, who beat Snow on the power play with 52 seconds remaining to
make it 4-2.
"We weren't on the same page. We were chasing the puck and that's what happens," Hossa said.
While the Senators held Jaromir Jagr without a point, Ottawa got
into a wide-open game and surrendered its third-highest shot total
this season.
"The other team, down in its own building, wants to open it up
a bit," said Snow, who stopped McEachern on a breakaway in the
first period, minutes before Kraft opened the scoring.
"The guys really picked it up in the second," Snow said. "We
have to find the consistency we played with in the final 40
minutes. When we do that, we'll be a force."
Game notes
Ottawa D Chris Phillips missed the game with back spasms.
Fellow Senators D Sami Salo, played with a bruised left knee and
earned an assist. ... Pittsburgh recalled C Toby Petersen from
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. The 22-year-old Petersen, the
AHL's co-leader in rookie scoring, arrived in Ottawa in time for
the game. ... Penguins C Roman Simicek (flu) and LW Kip Miller
(strained groin) were scratched.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Ottawa Clubhouse
RECAPS
Pittsburgh 4
Ottawa 2
Buffalo 3
Montreal 2
New Jersey 6
Colorado 1
St. Louis 1
Anaheim 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Martin Straka feeds Jiri Slegr for a short-handed goal.
avi: 547 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Alexei Kovalev bats the puck in mid-air for the tie-breaking goal.
avi: 848 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Penguins' goalie Garth Snow denies Shawn McEachern on the fast break.
avi: 570 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jiri Slegr gets a little help from Ottawa's Radek Bonk for his first goal.
avi: 798 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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