Crosby, Penguins edge Senators in OT

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby scored 1:16 into overtime, and Tristan Jarry made 31 saves for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 1-0 win against the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

Crosby won it with a one-timer from the right face-off circle set up by Erik Karlsson on the power play, extending his point streak to 10 games (15 points; eight goals, seven assists).

“I thought we had some good [chances],” Crosby said. “You always want to try to get more bodies and pucks to the net. There’s always games where you look back after the fact and you think about, maybe, opportunities you could have just put there. Maybe there were a couple of those. But I thought for the most part, we did a pretty good job of generating chances.”

The shutout was Jarry’s first this season and 20th in the NHL. He was pulled in each of the previous two games, allowing a combined eight goals on 19 shots.

The Penguins (30-34-11) had lost three in a row (0-2-1). They are six points behind the Montreal Canadiens, who have two games in hand, and the New York Rangers, who have one game in hand, for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“I thought our team did a better job at limiting some of the high, high-quality looks that [Jarry] has been faced with the prior couple of games,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought our group, as a whole, did a better job working to limit not only the quality, but also the quantity of the looks. So, I’m sure that helped him, but he still made a few big saves.”

Anton Forsberg made 34 saves for the Senators (39-28-6), who have a seven-point lead for the first wild card. They won 3-2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

“I think it was obvious we didn’t have a lot of juice,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “You could see our game wasn’t as sharp as it was last night. We found a way to get a big point.”

Jarry made 16 saves in the first period.

“I honestly think it helps, being able to get quite a few shots like that just to start the game,” Jarry said. “I think it kind of gets you into the game quick and it kind of gets you feeling the puck. It’s the same for both ways. I think when we’re putting pucks on the net early and, I think, crashing the net and getting the puck back, kind of low to high, I think that kind of gets our team into it. I think it’s the same for a goalie, being able to get some shots early.”

Nick Jensen had a chance to put Ottawa ahead at 16:48 when he was left alone in the right circle for a wrist shot. Jarry pushed to his left for a pad save.

Claude Giroux attempted to give the Senators the lead on a one-timer from the slot at 6:05 of the second period, but it hit Jarry’s right shoulder.

“Not to use it as an excuse, but coming in late last night, 5 o’clock tonight, it’s a tough back-to-back,” Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot said. “I mean, they played a good game. You’ve got to give them some credit. They didn’t give us a whole lot.”

Rickard Rakell came close for Pittsburgh at 8:33, dropping to one knee for a one-timer that hit the left post.

Shane Pinto had a breakaway for the Senators at 17:35 of the third period, but his shot went off the right post.

“It could’ve gone either way,” Forsberg said. “You could tell we were a little tired tonight, but we battled it out and we got a point, a point that’s going to be super important in the end. Obviously, we would’ve loved the two points, but right now, we should be happy about getting one point and moving forward. All points are going to matter in the end.”

NOTES: Crosby scored his 97th game-winning goal, passing Mats Sundin for the 12th-most in NHL history. It was his 24th career overtime goal, three behind Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin for the most in League history. ... Penguins forward Ville Koivunen had two shots on goal in 17:28 of ice time in his NHL debut. The 21-year-old was recalled, along with fellow rookie forward Rutger McGroarty, from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Friday. ... The Senators were outshot 16-4 in the third period and overtime after having a 27-19 advantage in the first two periods.