Penguins Lose 18 Straight

NHL teams

"You learn from these times," Penguins rookie left wing Ryan Malone said. "You have to lose before you win, and we're doing that. We're not accepting it. It's just so frustrating, continuing to lose."

The losing streak (0-17-0-1) is the longest in the NHL, but it won't make the record book because of an overtime loss. The record 17-game streaks by the Capitals (1975) and Sharks (1993) included only regulation losses.

"If you start looking at that, you'll lose focus," defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "You can get so caught up in it, it becomes a distraction. I'm just disappointed that we keep making the same mistakes over and over."

Martin Havlat scored three goals for Ottawa, his first hat trick in 13 months and the fourth of his NHL career. The Penguins have become such a loser that elite teams such as the Senators fell they have more pressure not to fail.

"When you play teams like this, there's no pressure on them, but it's almost a must-win for us," Ottawa defenseman Zdeno Chara said. "It's important to us for first place. You have to know that they're in a slump and give more credit for the way they work hard."

The Penguins last won a game on January 12 and they have a league's worst record (11-41-5-4).