The Ottawa Senators played another tight defensive game, but this time around they couldn't find a way to generate offense, and the resulting 1-0 Penguins win brings the series to Ottawa all knotted up a 1 game apiece.
Ottawa had a chance to tie it up late, on a last minute flurry with Craig Anderson on the bench, but Penguins shot-blockers were in full force and kept the barrage at bay.
Phil Kessel, snapped a second opportunity shot past a stumbling Anderson after his first attempt was blocked by Jean-Gabriel Pageu and the puck went right back to Kessel. Anderson was set for the first one but apparently got his skate caught in a rut as he was setting up for the encore, which is why he was a bit off-balance, and that was the difference in the game.
It looked like a game where the Senators weren't worried so much about winning, but sending a physical message, and that charge was led by Dion Phaneuf, who had a couple of huge hits including one in open ice that knocked Pens forward Bryan Rust out of the game. Mike Hoffman also knocked a Penguin out of the game, as his shove/crosscheck to an off-balance Justin Shultz sent the defender sprawling into the end boards and he left with what looked like a shoulder injury.
The fourth line of the Penguins also played a very physical game, and Pittsburgh was actually credited with more hits (50) than the Senators (37), but the impact appeared greater in the Senators' favor.
Things got very chippy at the end as Kyle Turris and Evgeni Malkin had some choice words and sticks for each other, which resulted in a mini melee with about 15 seconds left.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves for the shutout, but if there is a criticism of Guy Boucher so far in this series it might be that he has the reins held a little tight and most of Fleury's action was on shots from a distance. Ottawa played the game they wanted defensively, but when it came to the transition game they were unable to generate much, or take advantage of the battered Penguins blue line, similar to the way they started against the depleted Briuns back end in the first round.
Still, to go into the home of the league's most potent offense and hold the home team to two goals in two games, and coming home with a split would have been a scenario almost every Senators fan and player alike would have taken before the series started.
As the scene shifts to Ottawa, we still await either one of Erik Karlsson or Sidney Crosby to put a stamp on the series, because both captains have been relatively quiet so far and the most entertaining part of the first two games (aside from Phaneuf's hits) has been the ongoing Kessel outward demonstration of frustration, a lot of it directed at Malkin. The goal in the latter half of the third period might stem some of those ill feelings, but if game three goes along the same path, the main event might just be the two linemates getting physical with each other.