OTTAWA — The Penguins didn’t look like great — until Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin did their thing in the shootout.
Crosby and Malkin made pretty moves to beat Craig Anderson in the shootout and give Pittsburgh a 2-1 victory against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.
James Neal scored in regulation and had the first goal in the shootout to help the Penguins snap a two-game skid.
“We obviously didn’t want to keep sliding," Crosby. “Every game is so important. It wasn’t a pretty one but it was good we were able to find a way."
Colin Greening scored a second-period goal for the Senators, and Jason Spezza and Kyle Turris beat Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout. But Milan Michalek was stopped with Ottawa’s first attempt.
“Fleury was big for us tonight," said Neal.
Anderson made 33 saves for the Senators, while Fleury stopped 31 shots.
“It was a little sloppy at times, but you’ve got to win them like that," said Neal. “It’s going to be like that at times this year."
The Senators had an opportunity to win in regulation when Erik Karlsson’s slap shot from the slot sailed just wide of Fleury with less than 40 seconds to play.
“The puck was bouncing a bit and I couldn’t really settle it," Karlsson said. “I just tried to whack it and it didn’t work out."
Jakob Silfverberg had a chance in overtime for the Senators, but after stealing the puck at his own blue-line from Chris Kunitz, he was tracked down on a breakaway by Ben Lovejoy before he was able to get a shot off.
Greening’s first goal of the season for the Senators at 13:44 of the second came after miscues from both teams. Spezza had the puck in the Penguins’ end and although his shot was stopped by Fleury, Greening was there for the rebound and he tucked it in from along the goal line.
Also on Sunday:
Sharks 4
Canucks 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Joe Pavelski had two goals, Patrick Marleau scored again — though only once — and the Sharks stayed undefeated.
Jets 5
Islanders 4
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Evander Kane scored 1:59 into overtime to give Winnipeg a come-from-behind victory over the New York Islanders.
Blues 5
Wild 4
ST. LOUIS — Vladimir Sobotka scored from close range at 2:16 of overtime to give St. Louis a victory over Minnesota.
Capitals 3
Sabres 2
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season, and Washington became the last NHL team to get a win.
Canadiens 4
Devils 3
MONTREAL — Andrei Markov scored 4:22 into overtime on a power play as Montreal recovered from blowing a two-goal lead to defeat New Jersey.
Lightning 5
Flyers 1
TAMPA, Fla. — Teddy Purcell had a goal and two assists, Martin St. Louis contributed four assists, and Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia.
Blackhawks 2
Red Wings 1
CHICAGO — Nick Leddy scored 2:45 into overtime and Chicago improved to 6-0 — the best start in franchise history — with a win over Detroit.