Aston-Reese scores twice, Penguins defeat Senators

PITTSBURGH -- Zach Aston-Reese scored his first two NHL goals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-3 at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.

Sidney Crosby had an assist on each goal for Aston-Reese, who has three points (two goals, assist) in five games since being recalled on Feb. 3 from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
"It's pretty easy to score on one of Crosby's passes]," Aston-Reese said. "He can fire one into pretty much anywhere. … I had an open net [on the second goal]. I didn't want to miss that one."
***[WATCH: [All Senators vs. Penguins highlights]*
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he's been impressed with how quickly Aston-Reese has progressed.
"I think he's getting better with every game that he plays," Sullivan said. "He's a really solid two-way player. He's strong on the puck. He's good on the wall. He goes to the net. He has good awareness away from the puck. He's sound defensively. We can use him killing penalties.
"I just think he's a good overall player. I think he's getting better and better with every game that he plays. He's getting a little more confident."
Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang scored for Pittsburgh (32-22-4), which has won nine straight at home and are three points back of the Washington Capitals for first in the Metropolitan Division.
Matt Murray, who is 6-0-1 in his past seven games, made 30 saves for Pittsburgh.

Derick Brassard, Colin White and Matt Duchene scored, and Craig Anderson made 17 saves for Ottawa (19-27-9), which has given up six goals in consecutive games.
"We played well," Duchene said. "Murray was good early for them and we were outshooting them (by a) 2-1 (ratio) going into the third period and most of the third period too. So, it's tough when you get a few bad bounces and some really nice plays by them. They're one of the top teams in the League for a reason. They're back-to-back champs for a reason.
"They have some of the best players in the League on their team. So, there are a lot of good things, but obviously, in a loss, there are always things you can learn from and clean up."
Guentzel scored on the power play at 4:07 of the first period to make it 1-0. Justin Schultz saved the puck from being cleared twice at the blue line before taking a slap shot that Guentzel deflected past Mike Condon.
Brassard tied it 1-1 at 4:18 of the second period. Mark Stone passed to Brassard, who scored under Murray's arm with a slap shot from the left circle.

Guentzel scored his second of the game to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 5:10. Phil Kessel's initial shot was saved by Condon, but Guentzel collected the puck and scored just outside the crease.
Malkin made it 3-1 at 10:01 after Carl Hagelin found him with a backhand pass from behind the Ottawa net. Malkin spun around and sent a backhand shot that hit Condon before crossing the goal line.
Senators defenseman Dion Phanuef left the game at 10:45 in the second period after being traded along with forward Nate Thompson to the Los Angeles Kings for forwards Marian Gaborik and Nicholas Shore.
Aston-Reese extended the lead to 4-1 at 11:22 when his wrist shot from the left circle went under Condon's glove. Condon, who made five saves, was pulled for Anderson following the goal.
White cut it to 4-2 at 17:19 before Letang scored at 10:09 of the third to make it 5-2.
Duchene answered with a power-play goal at 14:21 to make it 5-3, but Aston-Reese made it 6-3 with an empty-net goal at 18:55.

Goal of the game

Malkin's goal at 10:01 of the second period.

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Save of the game

Murray's save on Cody Ceci at 8:43 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Aston-Reese's goal at 11:22 of the second period.

They said it

"We're using our speed, our forecheck. Turning pucks over. Getting pucks to the net quickly. Not letting teams get set up in their defensive structure. All the stuff that we know we're good at." -- Penguins goalie Matt Murray
"We were playing terrific and the shots were 23-9 for us and the score was 4-1. … I think, as a team, we wanted to come out strong. We definitely did. Shots were 11-4 for us after the first period. We were playing really well. We were playing great. So, a tough night." -- Senators coach Guy Boucher

Need to know

Crosby has 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) in his past 16 games. … Brassard has three goals in his past four games. … Penguins forward Carter Rowney played after missing practice Monday and morning skate Tuesday. He attempted one shot in 6:36.

What's next

Senators: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Penguins: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, ATTSN-PT, FS-W, NHL.TV)