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Pens shoot for sweep of Sens in Sweden

Sun 5th, October 2008

(Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins earned a thrilling victory in their first game of the regular season and will try to sweep the Ottawa Senators today, as the teams meet for the finale of a two-game series in Stockholm.

The New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning began the 2008-09 NHL schedules with a test in Prague earlier on Saturday and the Rangers opened the campaign with a victory. The Penguins later followed the lead of their Atlantic Division rivals by posting an overtime win at the Globe Arena.

This marks the second straight year that the league has begun its campaign in Europe after the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks started last season with a pair of games in London.

The Senators were the designated home club for Saturday's encounter, while the defending Eastern Conference champion Penguins will hold that distinction today.

Tyler Kennedy's goal at the 4:35 mark of overtime lifted Pittsburgh to the 4-3 triumph over the Sens. It marked just the second time in the last nine years that the Penguins began the campaign with a victory, while Ottawa had a four- game winning streak halted in season openers.

With time winding down in the extra session, Kennedy stole the puck from Jason Spezza and skated down the left wing. On the fly from the left circle, Kennedy let loose with a shot that beat Martin Gerber to the short side for the win.

It was the second goal of the game for Kennedy, while Evgeni Malkin and Robert Scuderi also lit the lamp for the Penguins.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves in the win for Pittsburgh, which lost to Detroit in six games in last year's Stanley Cup finals.

Spezza had a goal and an assist while Dany Heatley and Shean Donovan also scored for the Senators, who were swept by Pittsburgh in the first round of last year's playoffs. Gerber made 26 saves in the loss.

This was the debut of Craig Hartsburg as the head coach for Ottawa. He was hired in the offseason by general manager Bryan Murray, who had assumed temporary head coaching duties after firing John Paddock with 18 games remaining in the 2007-08 season.

Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa's captain and a superstar in his native Sweden, registered six shots on goal, but the normally stellar defensive forward was an uncharacteristic minus-three for the contest.

Ottawa had won the last three regular-season meetings with the Penguins before losing on Saturday. The teams have also faced off in the playoffs in each of the last two springs. The Sens defeated Pittsburgh in the opening round en route to a berth in the Stanley Cup finals in 2007, while the Pens downed Ottawa last April in the first round to begin their run to the Cup finals.

The Senators will be without centerman Mike Fisher once again today as he continues to rest a sore groin.