The Eastern Conference Finals series between the Senators and Penguins is off to about as exciting a start as you could have asked for.
After Pittsburgh scored with just over five minutes to play in regulation of Game 1 on Saturday, Ottawa winger Bobby Ryan ended it with a nifty goal just minutes into the overtime period.
The road win gives the underdog Senators a 1-0 lead in the series, which looks like it should be a good one. Ottawa’s defense frustrated Pittsburgh for much of the evening, with defenseman Erik Karlsson looking like the best player on the ice.
The Penguins’ lone breakthrough came with 5:35 remaining in the third period, when Chris Kunitz found Evgeni Malkin by the net for a game-tying goal.
Of course, that dramatic goal wound up being moot, as the game ended five minutes into overtime with Ryan’s score. Ottawa has had incredible success in overtime this postseason, with six wins in seven tries. It’s fairly remarkable the Senators have wound up in overtime seven times in 12 games and even more remarkable that they’ve won so many.
This looks like it could be a very, very interesting series.
