Pens and Sens Light it Up

The Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins put on a show for the crowd with a high scoring blow out game. The final score of 6-3 belied the loss of star power with league leader Milan Michalek out for Ottawa and Sid the Kid out for Pittsburgh. The damage was done with Spezza, Alfredsson, Karlsson and Cowen upping their game, while Pittsburgh support players Sullivan and Kunitz had solid nights. It started with a surprising choice in net for both teams, as the battle of the backups began. Ottawa opted for Alex Auld to start this game, a choice which was later explained by the numbers. Auld has won more games against the Pittsburgh Penguins than any other team in the NHL according to his stats (5 wins, not bad for a back up). Johnson, on the other hand, has also had good luck against Ottawa and with back to back games and Buffalo waiting for them at home, the Pens surely thought that they could rest Fleury against a manageable team like Ottawa. Turns out that they were wrong. Marc-An...