OTTAWA, Ontario _ As the calendar nears a flip to April, the Penguins will start getting tested on whether they can consistently win tight-checking, hard-fought games.
Thursday night in Ottawa may have been a preview.
The Penguins coughed up a third-period lead, but salvaged a point in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Senators, in a game between two teams clearly jostling for their respective playoff positions.
Senators goalie Mike Condon stopped Sidney Crosby in the shootout to secure the win for Ottawa.
Mike Hoffman had tied the score, 1-1, at 9:43 of the third period on a power-play goal from just above the left circle.
It was the first shot of the night to beat Penguins' goalie Matt Murray, who finished with 29 saves.
Hoffman's score cam with Matt Cullen in the penalty box with a holding penalty.
The Penguins entered the third period with the lead thanks to Nick Bonino, who continued his red-hot scoring run. Bonino put the Penguins up 1-0 midway through the second period with his 16th goal of the season. That total marks the second-highest of Bonino's career, most of which have come this month. Bonino has seven goals in his last nine games, and seems primed to head into the playoffs on a hot streak for the second consecutive year.
His score Thursday came on a laser wrist shot from the top of the left circle that pinged off the crossbar and in past Condon, who finished with 34 saves on the night.
Bonino's goal came in the first half of a double-minor assessed to Senators defenseman Dion Phaneuf at 7:39 of the second period for high-sticking Penguins winger Scott Wilson. Wilson left the ice bleeding, but returned before the end of the period.
Murray maintained the Penguins' slim lead shortly after Bonino's goal, when the Senators got an odd-man rush and Zack Smith got a good look at the net.
Neither team scored in the first period Thursday, which included a pair of 4-on-4 stints and one Penguins' power play. The closest either side came was when a blistering wrist shot from Hoffman with just over three minutes to go rang off the post and out.
Crosby failed to score for the first time in four games, and may have drawn more attention for the physical side of his game.
Crosby's slash of Ottawa defenseman Marc Methot midway through the first period didn't draw a penalty, but did leave Methot with a gruesome-looking finger injury, which caused him to miss the rest of the game.
With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Penguins got no help in their playoff push from the rival Blue Jackets and Capitals, who played Thursday night in Washington. The Capitals' shootout win meant that each team came away with at least a point, ensuring the Penguins remained in second place heading into Friday night's game against the Islanders.
