Dodging a Broadway Bullet
Troy Geary breaks down how the Senators have put themselves in a position to make their first Eastern Conference Final in a decade.
Eight days ago, after a four goal effort from Jean-Gabrielle Pageau, the Ottawa Senators had a 2–0 series lead over the New York Rangers.
Some, including myself, thought that Ottawa could make short work of New York. There was mass panic among theNew York fanbase after two ordinary performances from Henrik Lundqvist and his struggling teammates.
This was not the case for former Senator Mika Zibanejad and his teammates. The Rangers were all business in Madison Square Garden for Games Three and Four.
New York deserves all the credit for outplaying the Senators. They dictated the tempo and adjusted to their style of play to counter an overconfident Ottawa squad. The Rangers outmatched the Senators in physical play and speed. They committed to going to high scoring areas, and they consistently took advantage of odd-man rushes.
In Game Three, Mats Zucarello had a goal and assist, making it 2–0 in a first period where Ottawa was outshot 15–5 . The Rangers blocked shots and allowing few scoring chances in the final two periods en route to a 4–1 blowout.
In Game Four, Oscar Lindberg scored two goals off of two assists from Tanner Glass. The duo were the best players on the ice. The Rangers managed to chase Craig Anderson from the net after two periods, with Mike Condon being inserted to send a message to the team. New York frustrated the Senators to no end as they turned the series into a best-of-three going into Game Five.
Ottawa’s ability to clamp down on their opponents through the neutral zone was nowhere to be found in Games Three and Four. The offence didn’t make the trip down to New York, as only J-G Pageau and Kyle Turris scored goals for the Senators while on the road. The Senators were not winning puck battles at any point, and they almost looked scared at times when play got physical.
Erik Karlsson was left scoreless in both games while being relentlessly punished by the Rangers aggressive forecheck. The Senators captain had no time or space to operate. The Rangers adjustments after the first two games worked to perfection.
Bobby Ryan and Zach Smith who both left Game Three with injuries and returned to the lineup for Game Four. Erik Karlsson left Game Four in the second period after taking a hit behind the net that aggravated his fractured heel and did not return. Guy Boucher said in his press conference after game four that Craig Anderson would be back in the net for Game Five.
There was a nervous energy among the 19,082 in attendance at the Canadian Tire Centre for Game Five. The home crowd fans were silenced early as Craig Anderson allowed two questionable goals on his first four shots. It looked as though a repeat performance from Games Three and Four was on the horizon. That was until Mark Stone got the Senators on the board with his third goal of the playoffs, making it 2–1 through one period of play.
In the second period, Mike Hoffman found the back of the net for first time in the series to tie the game. Only thirty-seven seconds later, Tom Pyatt scored his first goal of the playoffs to give Ottawa a 3–2 lead. Ryan McDonough tipped in a Michael Grabner shot from the faceoff circle, which tied the game at 3–3 through two periods.
Jimmy Vesey’s first career playoff goal was initially thought to be a sprawling save from Anderson on the goal line. After reviewing the play, Anderson’s glove was clearly behind the goal line. The goal was allowed, putting New York up with 7:12 remaining in the third. After pulling Anderson for the extra skater for only nine seconds, Derick Brassard came back to haunt his former team, tying it at 4–4 with 1:26 remaining to force overtime.
It was all Ottawa in overtime. The Senators out-shot them 6–0 before Kyle Turris beat Lundqvist five-hole for the victory 6:26 into OT. With this goal, Turris surpassed Senators legend Daniel Alfredsson’s team record with his third career playoff overtime goal. With an assist on the goal, Karlsson notched his 11th point of the playoffs, surpassing the previous franchise record held by Wade Redden in 2007.
Game Six will be Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Ottawa is hoping to eliminate the Rangers an advance to their first Eastern Conference Final since 2007. New York will attempt to force a Game Seven on Thursday.
Ottawa will have to get off to a better start in the first ten minutes than they did in Game Five. Anderson needs to be solid early and find the form he was showing against the Bruins. Erik Karlsson will need to be the version we saw at the CTC, not MSG. The Senators should expect more physical play from the Rangers, similar to what they saw in Games Three and Four. Getting into the shooting lanes will be key, as New York has been more committed to blocking shots through the first five games. It will take a sixty minute effort against the Rangers, who’ve played the most post season games since 2012.
NHL history favours the team that takes the 3–2 lead in a best-of-seven series. The winner of Game Five goes on to take the series 78.3% of the time. Either way, this is guaranteed to be the longest playoff run by the Senators since the 2007 Cup Final run.
I said about three weeks before the trade deadline that this Senators team was poised to make an improbable run. What once seemed improbable is only one game away from reality for a Senators roster that has overcome tremendous adversity over the season.
I’m just happy to be along for the ride.
Troy Geary is a hockey writer for theocho.ca. Look forward to regular contributions from Troy on all things Senators and NHL.
