*Photo from Sportsnet*
Positive and heartwarming stories in the NHL are always fun. Thomas Chabot scored, Dylan Ferguson shined in goal, and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 2-1 victory on Monday night in Pittsburgh.
Before signing with the Senators, Ferguson had previously played 9 minutes in the Vegas Golden Knights debut season when they had goalie injuries mounting. He bounced around in the minors ever since before the Senators signed him to a two way deal with goalies Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg injured.
He performed well enough for AHL Belleville to earn a callup to the NHL, where he then proceeded to shut down the Penguins at every turn. Right before the Senators signed him, the AHL's Toronto Marlies were preparing to send him down to the ECHL.
Ferguson said of getting his first NHL win that "It's still sinking in, to be honest. My big focus tonight was just go out there and be me, don't try to be anything I'm not, stay in the moment. I felt like I did that."
Starting the scoring for the Senators was Chabot, who provided the only goal of the first period. He scored at the 16:46 mark of the first period, giving the Senators a 1-0 lead on his 10th goal of the season. Assists on the goal came from Ridley Greig and Claude Giroux, making it 1-0 Senators after the first period.
After a scoreless second period, the Penguins tied the game in the 3rd period. Rickard Rakell scored his 25th goal of the season to make the score 1-1, assisted by Evgeni Malkin and PO Joseph. Drake Batherson then gave the Senators the lead back with a power play goal, with assists coming from Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson.
With his performance, Ferguson joined a small club of goalies. Ferguson stopped 48 shots out of the 49 he saw from the Penguins, which was good for a stellar .980 save percentage. He became the 4th goalie in NHL history to have a 48 save showing in his first NHL win.
Senators head coach DJ Smith said of Ferguson that "It's just a perfect ending for a guy like that. When he started his summer training, I would think that he didn't think he would be giving up one on that many shots in Pittsburgh at the end of the year. That just shows you, if you stay with it, you never know when your chance comes."
Getting the start for the Penguins was Tristan Jarry, who took the loss as the Penguins lost their 4th game in a row. Jarry made 17 saves out of the 19 shots on goal the Senators had, recording a .905 save percentage. His record dropped to 20-10-6 in 39 games.
Jarry said of the loss after the game that "We have to bring it. Obviously, we put a lot of pucks on net. I think, eventually, goals are going to go in. It's a good start. Obviously, it's a good 60 minutes for us. We played well. The puck just wasn't going in for us tonight."
The Senators get back in action on Tuesday night to complete a back to back by facing the Boston Bruins, with Mads Sogaard to get the start. Jarry is the projected goalie for the Penguins against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.
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