Down 2-1 After Two: Penguins Need a Third-Period Answer on Fleury's Hall of Fame Night

Marc-Andre Fleury got his night. Now the Pittsburgh Penguins need theirs. Before the puck dropped Saturday at PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh inducted Fleury, Larry Murphy, Jim Rutherford and the late Jack McGregor into the team's Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Fleury — the first player from the post-lockout era to enter the team's Hall, picked unanimously in his first year of eligibility — received a standing ovation. He owns Pittsburgh's records for games played (691), wins (375) and shutouts (44), won three Stanley Cups here, and retired with 575 career wins, second only to Martin Brodeur in NHL history. Then the game started, and for one period it followed the script. Pittsburgh (7-10-2, 16 points entering the night) led the Ottawa Senators 1-0 after the first period. The second period flipped it. Ottawa (12-6-2, 26 points entering the night) scored twice in the middle frame, capped by Claude Giroux's backhand goal, assisted by Michael Amadio, late in the period to make it 2-1. That is where the score stood at the second intermission: Senators 2, Penguins 1, live — not a final. Sergei Murashov started in goal for Pittsburgh, head coach Dan Muse riding the rookie who stole Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win in San Jose with 34 saves. Linus Ullmark started for Ottawa and turned aside an Erik Karlsson wrist shot during Pittsburgh's late second-period push. Karlsson, facing his former team, entered the night leading Pittsburgh with 19 points in 19 games, ahead of Evgeni Malkin (17 points) and Sidney Crosby (13 points). Ottawa's danger was no secret coming in. Tim Stutzle leads the Senators with 24 points, and Shane Pinto — two goals and three points, including the overtime winner, against Colorado on Thursday — is finishing everything around the slot. The Senators arrived 3-0-1 in their last four and took the ice as the hotter, higher team in the standings. Projection — clearly a projection, not a result: the third period is the whole story now. Pittsburgh just learned in San Jose how to survive a blown lead instead of folding, but tonight the Penguins are the team chasing. They need the first goal of the third to turn a Hall of Fame crowd loose, and they cannot give Ottawa the rush chances that built the 2-1 lead. If Murashov holds the line and the top line finds one, this night can still end the way it began. If not, the ceremony will be the part worth remembering.