Mike Condon stands tall between the pipes as Ottawa Senators record come-from-behind win over Pittsburgh Penguins in shootout

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It was a perfect ending for an Ottawa Senators team seeking some justice.

When Mike Condon stopped Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby in the shootout to secure a come-from-behind 2-1 win, it took some of the pain away from Crosby’s stickwork on Marc Methot earlier in the game.

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Mike Condon stands tall between the pipes as Ottawa Senators record come-from-behind win over Pittsburgh Penguins in shootout Back to video

Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan scored for the Senators against Penguins goaltender Matt Murray in the shootout, while Condon was superb throughout.

The victory, coupled with Montreal’s loss to Carolina, moves the Senators to within one point of the Canadiens in the race for first spot in the Atlantic Division. The Senators and Canadiens play Saturday in Montreal.

The overtime featured spectacular goaltending from Condon, including a ridiculous blocker save off Chris Kunitz.

“I think it was (Derick Brassard) who got a stick on it originally and kind of slowed it down,” said Condon, who finished with 34 saves. “That gave me an extra half second to extend my arm. I was lucky to get my blocker on it and fortunately, it went over the net.”

It was a solid night for the goaltenders. Condon stopped 29 shots in regulation, while Murray stopped 28 in the first three periods.

The contest was also marred by Crosby’s nasty, unpenalized first period slash across the left hand of Senators Methot. Methot didn’t return to the game, forcing the Senators to play most of the game with five defencemen.

“His finger is shattered and he’s out for weeks,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said after the game.

The Senators rallied to get to extra time.

Mike Hoffman sent the game to overtime, tying the game 1-1 with a power play goal at the 9:43 mark of the third period. As much as the Senators power play has struggled at Canadian Tire Centre this season, they’ve had no problem figuring out the Penguins penalty killing, scoring on six of 12 opportunities against the Penguins this season.

“It has got us a lot of key goals lately,” Hoffman said of the power play. “The last game in Boston, Turris got a big goal and here tonight, I managed to get one that tied it up. Those goals are huge and we’re going to need those going forward if we want to be playing for a long time.”

For the longest time Thursday, Murray had the Senators’ number and he nursed a 1-0 lead into the third period. Until the Hoffman goal, it was an all too familiar story for Condon.

Up to that point, the only goal had come from the Penguins’ Nick Bonino, on a second period power play.

Condon, who is now firmly in the position of playing only when No. 1 goaltender Craig Anderson needs a rest, hasn’t been given much offence to work with lately.

The support in his previous five games? One goal, one goal, three goals, one goal and two goals.

Not surprisingly, the only game the Senators won in that span was the three-spot they scored in a come-from-behind win over Arizona on Feb. 9.

“It’s tough, because as a goalie you can’t go out there and say ‘win,'” said Condon. “Sometimes, you have to try and distance yourself from the outcome and just focus on what makes you good and just have faith if you do the right things, more often than not, you’re going to win games. We’ve got a skilled group in here and sometimes teams go on scoring droughts here and there.”

Anderson has also felt the scoring slump lately, too. The Senators had scored only nine goals in their previous five games. Again, the only victory in that stretch was when they scored three against Boston on Tuesday.

The scoring — or lack, thereof — is a front and centre concern. At least there’s hope that Mark Stone could return as soon as Saturday against Montreal.

The other major storyline concerns the uncertain status of Methot.

The Senators and their fans have good reason to be outraged by what happened.

Crosby escaped punishment for his whack on Methot — his finger was a bloody mess as he left the ice — which forced the Senators to play most of the night with just five defencemen.

Adding insult to the injury was the fact Bonino’s goal came with Dion Phaneuf serving a double minor penalty for high-sticking Scott Wilson. Bonino found the top stick side corner on Condon.

The Penguins officially clinched themselves another shot at the title on Tuesday, thanks to their 3-1 defeat of the Buffalo.

While there might normally be a tendency for a team in that situation to take a deep breath, preparing for the bigger battle ahead, the Penguins are in a fierce three-way battle with Washington and Columbus in the Metro Division.

To the winner goes the spoils — a first-round playoff series against the second wild card team in the Eastern Conference. The second and third place teams, on the other hand, will face each other in the first round.

Given that, the Penguins came into Tuesday’s game trying to maintain their edge. Crosby is also in the thick of an individual battle for the Hart, Art Ross and Rocket Richard Trophies.

The one apparent advantage for the Senators was the Penguins long injury list, including Evgeni Malkin, Carl Hagelin, Tom Sestito, Jake Guentzel and Ron Hainsey.

Hoffman came closest to breaking the 0-0 deadlock in the first period, rifling a shot off the post. Ryan Dzingel was also robbed by Murray.

Condon, who made 30 saves in a 4-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Jan. 12, was particularly sharp in the opening minutes when the Penguins buzzed around the net.

There was an edge from the outset. Bobby Ryan and Patric Hornqvist were at each other early and Tommy Wingels exchanged punches with Frank Corrado.

kwarren@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/Citizenkwarren