The Pittsburgh Penguins lost their fifth game in a row on Tuesday night, falling 5-1 to the Ottawa Senators at Consol Energy Center. With Brent Johnson getting the start in net, the Ottawa Senators raced out to a 4-0 lead, forcing coach Dan Bylsma to pull Johnson after he gave up three scores on just eight shots. The Pens would outshoot the Sens 30 to 23, but the early four goal deficit all but ended this one by the second period.
Evgeni Malkin was the only Pen able to solve Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson, scoring an unassisted goal on a Sergei Gonchar turnover. Malkin took a big blow from Gonchar right after the goal, but managed to gather himself after being down on the ice momentarily. Simon Despres, however, did not return after sustaining a lower-body injury in the first period.
Despres adds to the walking wounded. This was Pittsburgh's first game without Jordan Staal, who's out four to six weeks with a knee injury. James Neal, who was expected to be out week with what was originally a broken foot, was active after it was announced as simply a bruised foot. Neal saw nearly 17 minutes of ice time for the Pens. Craig Adams, who Bylsma said aggravated a previous injury on Sunday, played almost 12 minutes.
Wounded and carrying a five-game losing streak, the Pens now head out on a three-game road trip which begins Wednesday night in Washington, DC.
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