Penguins top Senators; shutout for Hedberg

OTTAWA -- The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting the results they wanted out of their coaching change.

Johan Hedberg made 29 saves for his first regular-season shutout as Pittsburgh beat Ottawa 3-0 Thursday night, the Penguins' second straight victory under new coach Rick Kehoe.

"We've been working on a little system the last few days and I think it shows on the ice," Penguins captain Mario Lemieux said. "Everybody knows what their role is and we've played very well, especially in our own zone."

Kehoe replaced Ivan Hlinka, who was fired Monday after the Penguins started the season 0-4. Pittsburgh beat Ottawa 5-2 on Tuesday in Kehoe's debut.

"We got strong goaltending in our last two games and our guys played hard in both ends of the rink," Kehoe said. "They did what they had to do to get a win."

Martin Straka, Stephane Richer and Robert Lang scored as the Penguins beat Ottawa for the second straight game.

"They made a change and we have to respond to it," Hedberg said. "There was a lot of energy in the room for that first game and we gained the confidence we needed from that game, and kept it going tonight."

Hedberg, who had two shutouts in 18 playoff games last spring, made nine starts with Pittsburgh last season after being acquired from San Jose on March 12.

"It's always a great feeling to get a shutout, there's no doubt about that," Hedberg said. "But it's a team game, and it's a team shutout."

The Senators (3-4-1-0) have scored just six goals in four games.

"You have to give credit to Hedberg," Senators left winger Shawn McEachern said. "The last two games, he's played well and he's stoned us pretty good. They've played good defense but we've got to spend more time in their zone and grind it out a little more and take more shots. We're trying to be a little fancy and we're not shooting enough."

Straka scored his fourth goal of the season 6:29 in. He took a pass from Lang, broke past two defensemen and scored on a slap shot from the left circle, beating goaltender Jani Hurme between the pads.

Richer gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead 3:01 into the third. Richer, who came out of retirement before the season to play alongside Lemieux on Pittsburgh's top line, scored his first goal since Mar. 24, 2000, accepting Jan Hrdina's pass from behind the net and tucking the puck past Hurme.

"The second goal, I didn't see the puck very well, but I have to make those saves," Hurme said.

Lang scored his fifth of the season into an empty net with 38.6 seconds remaining.

Hurme, who made 29 saves in his third start, stopped Lemieux on a breakaway on a Pittsburgh power play nine minutes into the third.

Ottawa, which entered the game with the fourth-worst penalty killing record in the league, stopped each of Pittsburgh's six power plays, including four in the first period.

Magnus Arvedson returned to the Senators' lineup for the first time since injuring his groin in the team's 5-4 victory over Toronto on Oct. 3.

Notes: Pittsburgh allowed the first goal in each of its four losses. . . . The Penguins began a three-game road trip that will include stops in St. Louis and Atlanta. . . . Senators center Mike Fisher got the best of Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Moran in their second-period fight. . . . Redden played despite hobbling around on crutches Wednesday after being hit in the left foot by a slap shot by Richer in the second period of Tuesday night's game.