Tristan Jarry made 37 saves for the Penguins (28-27-9), who have combined to score two goals in losing four straight games (0-3-1).
"I didn't think we did as good a job tonight getting to the net front,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “We've got to do a better job fighting for that area of the rink, making the sight lines difficult and creating more broken plays where we have a chance to create off of that initial shot.”
Sanderson gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 11:06 of the third, flicking in Mathieu Joseph’s pass from the slot.
“It’s been a while. It’s been frustrating for sure, but we were resilient,” Sanderson said. “We’re trying to stick with it. For our fans, we’re going to battle until the end here, no matter what.”
Claude Giroux seemed to score earlier in the period at 4:08 with a one-timer in off the left post past a screen from Joseph, but it was disallowed after Joseph was called for goaltender interference following a Penguins challenge.
"I thought I was seeing it well,” Jarry said. “It was just one of those nights. You always wish you could do a little more in a loss. I think just bringing that same consistency every night will help the guys and we'll start stringing together some wins."
Jarry, who allowed 15 goals in his previous four starts, denied Stutzle on a breakaway 37 seconds into overtime, three seconds after Penguins defenseman Kris Letang fell for a turnover at the other end.
"He made huge saves,” Letang said. “Especially when I fell, that was a huge save. He gave us a chance at the other net. He’s pretty quick at saving pucks and shooting it up north for us to get going. He played really well."
The teams combined for 44 shots in the first two periods (Pittsburgh, 25; Ottawa, 19).
Senators coach Jacques Martin, an assistant with the Penguins from 2013-2020, said he struggled to contain his emotions.
“After the first period [assistant coach Daniel Alfredsson] told me to calm down,” Martin said. “It was a good message because I’m usually not very emotional behind the bench. When you play Pittsburgh, you get a little more emotional. So even at my age, I’m learning.”
NOTES: Senators forward Zack Ostapchuk had two shots on goal in 12:44 of ice time in his NHL debut after being recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League. ... Penguins forward Drew O'Connor, a game-time decision, had two shots on goal and two hits in his return from missing three games with a concussion. ... Pittsburgh has lost seven of eight, scoring one or fewer goals in six of the seven losses. ... Sanderson, 21, has 31 points (eight goals, 23 assists) in 60 games this season. He is the third Senators defenseman to reach 30 points in multiple seasons before turning 22 years old, joining Andrej Meszaros (39 in 2005-06 and 35 in 2006-07) and Karlsson (78 in 2011-12 and 45 in 2010-11).
