PITTSBURGH — Dominik Hasek wasn’t in net for the Senators Monday evening, but he may as well have been.
The Penguins failed to figure out journeyman netminder Dylan Ferguson, who was making his first career NHL start, for 55 minutes of play. Rickard Rakell finally solved Ferguson’s riddle on the Penguins’ last 48 shots with five minutes to go in the third period, scoring a shutout-ceasing goal that tied the game at one. But rather than lead to a comeback win, Rakell’s goal only prolonged the inevitable.
The Senators’ Drake Batherson scored a late power-play goal to send the Penguins to a 2-1 defeat at PPG Paints Arena. The loss was the Penguins’ fourth in a row for a team that is struggling to stay in the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture.
