Senators Save Their Season With 4-3 Triple Overtime Victory In Game 5

Up 3 games to 1 in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series, the Pittsburgh Penguins stood to gain a great deal of beneficial rest if they were able to close out the Ottawa Senators on home ice in game 5 last night.

Now, after the Senators' 4-3 triple overtime victory on defenseman Matt Carker's goal, not only will the Penguins have to go at least 6 to defeat Ottawa, it will feel like at least 7 after the teams played nearly two full games in this thriller.

And what a strange game it was.

With a raucous crowd behind them, the Penguins promptly came out of the gate in game 5 somewhat flat and disinterested and almost handed the game to the Senators.

Mike Fisher got credit for the opening goal when a shot from Sens' blueliner Erik Karlsson ping-ponged of him and Pens' defenseman Sergei Gonchar before going past Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

About a minute later, Ottawa continued to take the play to the Penguins when forward Mike Folingo beat lumbering Penguins' rearguard Jay McKee to the puck on the far wall in the Pittsburgh zone, then pushed the puck by him behind the net, slipped around backchecker Chris Kunitz, then fed the puck in front where Senators' forward Jarkko Ruutu banged it home for a 2-0 lead.

At that point -- seeing his team get outworked and outhustled, especially down low -- Penguins' Head Coach Dan Bylsma called a timeout to try and stabilize his troops.

It must have worked because Pittsburgh re-gained their equilibrium, then were rewarded when defenseman Kris Letang scored a power play goal past surprise Ottawa starter Pascal LeClaire later in the period to make the score 2-1 heading into the first intermission.

Then, with the second period winding down, the teams saw the first of 3 disputed goal plays in the game that necessitated video review in the NHL's league office in Toronto.

On the first one, Kunitz banged a puck just through LeClaire and across the line, but the official immediately waived off the goal.

I initially thought he could only be waiving it off because the net came off its moorings on the play, but there was a small problem with that theory.

The net obviously never came off.

It lifted all right -- on both sides -- but never came off. Immediately when the play was blown dead, I looked at the net and saw it in place right where it belongs.

So then I thought that couldn't be the reason --- he must have just lost sight of the puck. The Pens were screwed if that was the case because you can't reverse those calls. It's just bad luck.

Alas, after review, it seemed the question had to do with the moorings after all, and because they didn't come off, Pittsburgh was awarded the tying goal.

It looked good for the Penguins about 9 minutes into the 3rd when Sidney Crosby made an incredible play to hustle to a loose puck in the slot and bang it past LeClaire for a 3-2 Pittsburgh lead, but Ottawa's best forward in this series so far, Peter Regin, negated that when he scored on a slapshot from 50 feet at the center point to tie the score again.

Because that's the way it remained, the teams went to overtime and Ottawa came out in the extra session against Pittsburgh the way they opened the game -- firing on all cylinders. And, it looked like they got rewarded for it.

Mike Folingo had a rebound go off a Jason Spezza shot go off him and behind Fleury for what appeared to be the game-winner.

Like Kunitz' marker toward the end of the second period, Folingo's goal was immediately waived off, and like Kunitz's tally, it required video review.

Unlike Kunitz's goal, however, it was ruled no-goal.

Frankly, I was a little surprised by the ruling because, while the puck clearly went in off Foligno's skate, it was difficult to see a 'distinct kicking motion', as I understand the NHL to require if a goal in that situation is to be disallowed.

Thankfully for Pittsburgh at that point, the folks in Toronto apparently didn't see it that way and chose not to end a playoff overtime game by overruling one of their on-ice officials.

Nothing changed in the rest of that OT, and in the second extra session, Evgeni Malkin had the best chance for Pittsburgh when he took a turnaround shot from the slot that went off something and off the post behind LeClaire.

Finally, 7 minutes into the 3rd overtime, Ottawa defenseman Matt Carkner kept the Senators' season alive by ending things the way multiple-OT games often go.

By just getting the puck on the net and getting a break.

Which is what he did when he hammered one from the right point that appeared to go off Pens' forward Matt Cooke and past Fleury for the game-winner.

And so, with a few unlikely heros in Carkner and LeClaire -- who stopped 56 of 59 shots in a career playoff debut that doubled as the longest game in Ottawa Senators' history -- the Senators will return home to host the Penguins in game 6 at Scotiabank place on Saturday night (7:00 PM, VERSUS).

Of course, the Penguins seemingly wouldn't have it any othe way.

They failed twice last year to close teams out early on home ice, and instead won every single series last season on their way to the Stanley Cup on the road.

Let's hope for more of the same this season starting on Saturday night in Ottawa, where Pittsburgh dominated the Senators in games 3 and 4 in their barn.

Rest. Refresh. Regroup. Then get the next one.

That's what the Penguins have to do.

More later.