Merilainen gets 1st NHL shutout, Senators cruise past Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- Leevi Merilainen made 29 saves for his first NHL shutout, and the Ottawa Senators won 5-0 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

The 22-year-old played his seventh game (six starts) since being selected in the third round (No. 71) of the 2020 NHL Draft.

"It feels awesome, of course, to get the first one out of the way," Merilainen said. "It feels as good as every win."

Shane Pinto scored twice, and Claude Giroux had three assists for the Senators (20-18-3), who had lost four in a row and six of seven.

Alex Nedeljkovic allowed five goals on 17 shots before being pulled in the second period, and Tristan Jarry made five saves in relief for the Penguins (18-18-8), who have lost five of six (1-2-3).

"I think we just got outplayed tonight," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "We didn't play well enough."

Ottawa scored on its first two shots on goal.

Tyler Kleven put the Senators ahead 1-0 at 3:16 of the first period, a one-timer from the point off a pass from Giroux. It was upheld after Pittsburgh, which has allowed a goal on the first shot in 10 of 44 games this season, used a coach's challenge for goalie interference.

Pinto made it 2-0 with two seconds remaining on the ensuing power play at 5:14. He ended a seven-game goal drought from the right face-off circle on another one-timer set up by Giroux.

Pinto extended the lead to 3-0 at 19:04 with a short-handed goal, keeping the puck on a 2-on-1 for a wrist shot from the right circle.

"Came out strong, had a good first," Pinto said. "Kind of shut it down. Leevi made some big saves. Just a good overall team win. ... Try to get our swagger back. We had it a bit on the West Coast (road trip in December). We kind of lost it for a bit. Hopefully, this one builds our confidence."

The teams combined for 15 penalties in the first period (Ottawa, eight; Pittsburgh, seven).

"We lost our control and our temper," Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson said. "We focused on a lot of things not involved in playing hockey and playing our game. That's on us, and that shouldn't happen, no matter what happens in the game.

Drake Batherson pushed it to 4-0 on a power play 41 seconds into the second period, when the puck slipped to him out of a scrum for a wrist shot to the right of the net with Nedeljkovic down in the crease. He had three assists during a 10-game goal drought.

Tim Stutzle made it 5-0 at 7:06 by tapping in a loose puck in the crease after a shot from Nick Jensen deflected off Giroux and went under Nedeljkovic but was not covered.

"Solid, right from the drop of the puck," Senators coach Travis Green said. "We looked like a team that was ready to play with some conviction tonight. Nice road win. ... There was a lot of stuff going on after the whistles. It was a physical game early. I liked that we stuck together."

The Penguins won 5-3 against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday but have lost two of three to start a five-game homestand.

"Every team tries to be consistent," Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. "That's the biggest challenge over 82 games. I think that we've responded the right way in situations throughout the year. I don't think there's been a ton, to be honest with you. There was a couple earlier in the year where you can say that we came in after the game (and) talked about how we didn't give ourselves a chance.

"But besides that, I think lately, we've given ourselves a chance to win and done some good things for the most part."

NOTES: Merilainen (22 years, 151 days) is the second goalie in Senators history to have a shutout at age 22 or younger. He joined Robin Lehner, who did it twice (20 years, 219 days and 22 years, 174 days). ... Giroux has 76 points (21 goals, 55 assists) in 69 games against the Penguins, passing Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (75 points; 42 goals, 33 assists) for the most among active players. ... Senators forward Noah Gregor did not play after sustaining a lower-body injury in a 4-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. ... Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin missed a third straight game with an upper-body injury. He is day to day. ... Senators forward Cole Reinhardt left with an upper-body injury in the second period. There was no update.