Penguins powered by Matheson's 3-point night, prevent Sens' 3rd-period comeback

Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby scored, and the streaking Pittsburgh Penguins held off the Ottawa Senators 6-4 on Thursday night.

Jake Guentzel's team-best 21st goal of the season was a much-needed empty-netter, as Pittsburgh nearly blew a four-goal lead in the third period.

"It was one of those games where we lacked the attention to detail that our team is normally accustomed to playing with," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "When you play that way, you give up more chances and spend more time in your end. Fortunately, we found a way to win."

Drake Batherson extended a four-game point streak with Ottawa's lone goal in the first two periods, and the Senators trailed 5-1 entering the third. But they scored the next three goals, trimming the deficit to one.

Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves for Ottawa. Anton Forsberg stopped six shots in the first period before he was pulled.

WATCH | Penguins find an unlikely goal-scoring source:

Penguins Matheson scores twice in wild win over Senators

3 years ago

Duration 2:01

Pittsburgh defenceman Mike Matheson scored twice including the winner as the Penguins held on to defeat Ottawa 6-4 Thursday night.

Tim Stutzle scored his sixth goal at 1:45 of the third and Josh Norris followed, cutting it to 5-3. Jarry stopped Alex Formenton with a pad save on a penalty shot, but Norris scored his second of the game and 18th of the season at 8:02 to make it 5-4.

Guentzel effectively ended it for Pittsburgh. In his last 22 games, he has been held off the scoresheet just once dating to Nov. 13.

"Those first two periods, we were playing the way we wanted to play," Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said. "Of course, the score didn't show it. Nobody likes losing, but there are a lot of things to be happy about with our game."

Crosby and Malkin played together in Pittsburgh for the first time since last season's playoff series against the New York Islanders. They scored in the same game for the first time since March 15, a 4-1 home win against Boston.

Malkin helped Pittsburgh build its early lead, and Matheson's two goals bookended Crosby's power-play marker as the Penguins opened what appeared to be a comfortable advantage through two periods.

"All throughout the game we were pretty sloppy," Matheson said. "That's a tough way to play, and teams are really good in transition. If you're giving them those opportunities, it's tough to defend well."