Obviously the Ottawa Senators are underdogs in this series.
Just about every so called expert has sided with the Rangers and when you consider the fact that they are the top seed in the East, you can see why. But that certainly doesn't mean that the Senators can’t beat the Rangers in this best of seven.
Here are the five keys to the series as I see it…
- Craig Anderson matches Henrik Lundqvist
In the lead up to this series we've heard about the huge advantage the Rangers have in goal. Lundqvist is a Vezina and Hart Trophy candidate this season and comes into this series with the pressure of New York City on his shoulders. At the other end, Anderson has just six games of playoff experience. In 2009/2010, Andy nearly led an upstart Avalanche team to a shocking first round upset. Anderson has to find a way to equal his counterpart at the other end of the rink and that starts with a strong first ten minutes tonight.
- Spezza and Karlsson Adjust to Physical Game
This is the other story line we have been force fed for the past week. How the big bad Rangers were going to punish the star players of the Senators. Karlsson and Spezza will both have targets on their back and are going to have to get used to being hit and hit often. It will be important to use that and avoid retaliation while making the Rangers pay on the scoreboard. If Karlsson and Spezza can absorb the physicality and still produce, the Sens are in good shape.
- Sens Pound the Rangers Defence
For me, this is the forgotten element of this series. Sure the Rangers are a big, strong hockey team, but I certainly don’t expect them to physically dominate this series. The likes of Foligno, Neil, Winchester, Smith and Greening need to finish their checks at every opportunity. The Rangers have a solid defence core but Del Zotto, Girardi, McDonagh and Staal are all relatively inexperienced. Sens need to make them pay a price every chance they get.
- Secondary Scoring
If the Rangers game plan is to target the likes of Spezza, Karlsson and Michalek then it will be crucial for guys like Alfredsson, Foligno, Turris and Greening to contribute offensively. I would expect the D-paring of Girardi and McDonagh to see a lot of the Spezza line so that second unit of Foligno-Turris-Alfredsson has to step up. Any scoring from the bottom six will be huge too.
- The Transition Game
To me, this is the clear advantage the Sens have over the Rangers. They can outskate them and in the four match ups this year, they have done exactly that. Paul MacLean’s group has to be ready to move their feet and make the defensively stubborn Rangers work their backsides off. The key here will be quick breakout passes from the defence up to the forwards, and that responsibility will largely fall on Erik Karlsson, Filip Kuba and Sergei Gonchar. If the Senators can skate like they’re capable of, they will push the East’s number one seed to the limit.
Playoffs are the time of year every hockey fan looks forward to and that every Leaf fan hears about from their parents/grandparents. Let’s make sure we enjoy this ride, Sens fans. Nobody gave this team a chance heading into this season and they surprised everyone by grabbing a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Now let’s shock the world by knocking off the top team in the East.
GO SENS GO!
______________________________________________________________________
Here is how the Senators are expected to line up tonight. Looks like Matt Gilroy will play and Matt Carkner will be the healthy scratch on the blue line. Butler, Konopka and Klinkhammer are the healthy scratches up front.
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
Foligno-Turris-Alfredsson
Smith-O'Brien-Neil
Daugavins-Winchester-Condra
Kuba-Karlsson
Phillips-Gilroy
Cowen- Gonchar
Smith had no luck since 2 months. He really slowed down.
SERENITY NOW!
^AGREE!
Baha man I'm LOL'ing hard from this I feel your frustration man lmfao i hear ya
O'brien has had the best scoring chance in this game minus alfies goal
keep chipping away boys
Too bad the rest of the confetti are going to collect mold in the ceiling cause they won't win another one. GO SENS GO!
When you have 3 guys in front of you, that must mean some of your players are free, right right?
Actually, I wouldn't call that heart and soul, I would call that discipline.
And Neil seems to be playing hurt, he is playing soft and I have never seen him play soft ever... if he is hurt then put in Konopka
Good thing this is game one folks. The Sens will learn, make adjustments and comeback next time like they have at every low point this season. We will look back at this game a while from now and call it a turning point in this series. Mark my words- they will come back!
Won't ever stop supporting these guys. Don't mind what the experts and commentators may say.
Go Sens Go!
I switched to the Boston game.. they had confetti falling AFTER ONE WIN? How's that like a slap in the face. Let's hope those 2 goals help them in the next game. They know they have to come out hard & hitting... start on Callahan and work your way to that defense...
We seemed really small compared to them. We need Carkner back and even Zibby if we lose Saturday.
I know you are making an observation but why does it always sound so condescending. Is it really necessary? I guess it makes you feel better about yourself. Need to check your insecurities at door.
they came out on full cylinders, we have a bunch of rookies who have never seen the playoffs, i know what you're saying but i think their fight showed character
All the team really needed was to put the puck in the net. This team lives and dies on it's offense and they build confidence with every goal they score. Most importantly PM will have to break down that rangers PK and make sure Ottawa's man advantage at least generates some serious positive momentum from this game forward.
You have to out-work the other team when on the PP and play your most desperate hockey. This is where the Sens will have to grab an edge in the series. Tonight they flat out weren't good enough on the PP. Just way too casual and not focused enough on creating chaos by getting the puck through and throwing bodies to the net. We won't get them pretty against the rangers, just get the puck through and go.
Another tookie
Its always great to have an idiot like you running around telling us all how the sky is falling
And by the way noob, i have been contributing to this site for more than 2 years, and dont need advice from the likes of you.
If you can't get behind this team then I suggest you take a long walk off a short pier fucktard.
Funny how you appear when tookie dissaperars.
Can't say out to dry really, and normally I wouldn't revert on such a subject. But Callahans first Andy should have had. And Goborik, well you let that guy in close and he'll make any keeper look bad. But the last two were just high shots that he couldn't handle. If we had picked those corners we could have had a few as well. I just don't think tonight was Andy's night when it mattered most. Here is hoping he and the team learns from this game, pushes hard in game 2 and evens up the series.
Go Sens Go!!!
Um, everyone knows that this is tookie...this handle was a "punishment/bet " thing that Tookie had to do because the sens made the playoffs. Tookie's really not that bad though, I'm glad he comments here in Senschirp. Sure he can be negative but I don't doubt his passion for OUR TEAM!
1- Andy has to have that first one. That was a killer
2- The PP needs to be much better. It killed a lot of momentum tonight.
Other then that I thought the boys competed hard. Would like to see some more traffic in front of lundqvist and a bit more physicality next game though.
Go Sens Go
I hope PM or someone talks to him about that, because trying to out-think the defense or lundqvist is going to get us nowhere.
Anderson needs to sharpen up a little bit. He wasn't awful, but it own't be enough to be good in this series. He'll have to be great or I think we're done.
was it a great game by Ottawa? no, but read them for yourselves...it 's not random or unbiased.
This team has to find a way to eliminate those crazy defensive laps - holy shit it gets ugly at times. Giving away pucks in the D-zone like its Christmas!
And the forwards need to get on a role and actually put the puck in the net. Way to streaky. Can't win playoff games like that. Spezza and Karlsson are trying to be too cute with dangles and where was Michalek all night?? As usual, Turris-Foligno- Alfie are the ones creating chances but creating chances alone is not enough...
And Vermette gives Coyotes the lead!
I was going to say... for the trifecta!
not to mention he doesn't know more than maybe 3 players on the sens...hell there was a time where he forgot our teams name even
-1st line sucks
Michalek and greening 3 shots combined
spezza and alfie 10 shots combined.
Separate the boys from the men, no more top line ice time for hacks
-PP sucks 0/5
Unless these issues are addressed we will be swept and embarrassed out of the playoffs
been saying it all along why cant he notice the obvious?!?!!?!?
0/5? sir if you're going to be a troll the least you can do is spout out actual stats at least then you would be a credible troll...instead your just a douche
FREEBIRD !
Its time to separate the boys from the men, its playoff time!, how about some more support, passion or emotional fire for our boys in crimson!
GO SENS GO!!!
What I didn't like was how soft the Sens were against the Rangers. I think our team sometimes relies on Neil to just go out there and rough people up but in the playoffs that can't happen. Calling for Carks or Konopka is not the right answer, as we need skill and toughness. Guys like Smith, Foligno, Michalek, etc all need to start hitting and stop playing so soft. If we do that, we will definitely have the Rangers second guessing their breakouts.
I'm also glad that we played the game until the end and scored a few in the third. It shows the boys that Lundqvist is not God and he can be beaten. Here is hoping we can pull out a win in game 2!
I know you're looking for attention, so I'm not replying directly to you, but for anyone reading these forums:
This goal is INCREDIBLY important for our team! It proved that Lundqvist is not invincible, it was a punch in the bully's face that made him bleed...it doesn't give us a win, nor make us win the series, but it gave the rest of the team hope to rally around...AND IT WAS THE CAPTAIN WHO DID IT!!!
Their Callahan did a great job by opening the scoring on their side (very important for them and it gave them a lot of confidence to go fall back on), and it was countered by our captain...and what do you know...another sens scored after lundqvist was proven to be beatable.
So HUGE goal by Alfie! A little too late to win the game, but the rookies were way too nervous to win this one anyway. Hopefully the Captain settled them down enough to come back in the second game in a huge way.
Building blocks...that is the term used. There is a lot of positive to take from this game, the Sens really did look good in the second period and controlled a lot of the offensive pressure.
This is best of 7 hockey, not a single game...This goal was incredibly important.
BRING ON GAME 2!!!!
Rangers get the lead... on not necessarily the best goal, and a young Sens team goes down.
Plenty of PP chances, that generated zilch, in one of our first ones, we did not even enter the zone, this is inexcusable, in fact the strong penalty kills, or weak PP from our Sens, turned the momentum back to the Rangers... plenty of missed opportunities to take it to them.
Finally, puck luck, Sens had none, every deflection went wide or simply hit Lundquist.
Reality come playoffs you make your own puck luck, through hard work determination, and execution, and our PP has absolutley none of those qualities!
The PP has been a sore spot all year, way too vanilla, no intensity, and no creativity. If we do not resolve this, then it may be a shorter series than most of us had hoped.
Great efforts by:
Foligno
Turris,
Alfie,
Condra
O'Brien,
but most of the rest were spectators last night.
One last point, which I know will not be addressed, Goncrap, was on the ice for 3 goals against, and was one of our worst PP performers,
PLEASE, can anyone tell me why do we have this guy in our lineup... I beg for an answer... the right decision, which will not happen, is to sit Goncrap, and put in Carkner,
Anyway, on to game two, where I am more than confident we show up with a little more determination, and bang out at split!
agreed, do you have the email address?
And after yesterdays loss, I am sure you chomping at the bit to get your points across... we await with baited breath :)
Chirp if it means a few more minutes without Tookies harsh realities, then wait a bit longer before posting a new one :)
Agree! Put back Dean Brown for our games, he's our guy!
Sccccraaaamble!!!!!!
Can you post the email address where we can complain?
Unfortunately, they do not make it easy. You have to go to the contact us link and fill out the form. http://www.cbc.ca/contact/
Oh come on I havent been hard on them so far, all I said was game over when it was 4-0, was pretty obvious at that point and the 2 goals we scored only mean we can score on a team that has already packed it in for the night, with a 4-0 lead you tend to let your guard down a bit. No way Alfie is left unattended to cruise infront of the net like that in the 1st and 2nd.
Sens didnt play all that bad, they wethered the storm in the first, came back in the 2nd but couldnt do the little things right. A couple of bad games by Karlsson, Spezza, Michalek, Kuba, Gonchar, that will do you in everytime, we cant have them playing badly.
Fair enough Tooks, and agreed with your comments, it was not all that bad, but we really need all on board for our next game on Saturday
https://twitter.com/#!/sungarrioch
https://twitter.com/#!/sundonib
vs
https://twitter.com/#!/ian_mendes
Wow, I saw this game exactly the same way you did. I agree with the 5 players you think had good games too. O'Brien, although he wasn't all that physical, did create a lot of turnovers in the Rangers zone by digging hard in the corners.
So yeah, I can't really take anything positive from this game besides beating Lundquist on two goals. We were so soft and rarely finished our checks (this is huge in the playoffs). Our passes were horrible even when we were not being pressured. Way to many stupid mistakes and missed clearing opportunities. Not enough criss-crossing on our breakout attempts made us very predictable. Powerplay took way to long to setup (if we were even lucky enough to break the zone). Not enough traffic and emotion in front of their net either (we need one of our boys to make Lundquist's life horrible).
What even happened to a simple "dump the puck in deep, chase the puck down, and destroy the Rangers D who attempts to receive it".
Ummm I'm pretty sure Henrik didnt STEAL the game, he didnt have to do much really, maybe that 1 cut in drive by O'Brien, that was probably Henrik's best save. The rest were weak perimeter shots, King H eats those for breakfast.
Not sure but the Rangers had far more scoring chances and better quality shots.
Don't pretend to be any better than the "experts" who predicted the Sens to finish last, or to lose this series. Everyone is saying it, you aren't the exception anywhere but this thread. Give it a rest. A sweep happens after 4 wins, not 1.
Sens got chances. They need to find a way to do what the Rangers were doing, which is get in close more often. If they do that, and can keep the Rangers from doing that as much as they did, these games become 1 goal games and not 2 or 3 or 4. The 2 goals were from in close, they need to do that earlier and more often.
Need a win to make them disappear again.
Seriously thought...I'm pumped for game 2! (So I can see how they adjust)
I think I just shit my pants!
They can hang with this team physically. For all the 'Rangers hit everything' talk, we can finish our hits just as well. Greening played a great physical game last night and he leaned on Gaborik hard a few times. Need more of that. This Sens team needs to fight back a little more
Second, they need to move the puck around quicker in the offensive zone. They have a few different set plays for zone entry and they did well at doing that and ending up with possession, but they were too slow with their decisions which allowed the Rangers to get into the shooting lanes.
And finally, I think it's VERY imporatant that we didnt get shut out. That would have been a tough mental block to overcome.
But they MUST win game 2 IMO. Going down 2-0 to this Rangers team will mean the series is done. We need to take back home ice advantage heading back to the SBP
GO SENS GO
Leafs Fan alert !
we scored a couple of quick goals to show that we are still in it and won't go away. I expect a lot grittier, all-around better effort tomorrow night...to get us back in the mix...everyone now knows what it will take to win, and we have shown all year that we can beat anyone...especi ally the Rangers.
Go Sens Go....
Leave ZipZapParappath eRappa alone! He is my troll brother from the magical land of fairy tales!
http://www.cbc.ca/contact/
Is that you Corey Clouston ?
Hello,
Please remove Bob Cole from calling the play by play for CBC Hockey Night in Canada games.
I loved watching and listening to Bob Cole and Harry Neil growing up. However, Bob Cole is no longer able to keep up with the pace of the game. Also, he often has trouble identifying players; for example, last night he couldn't differentiate between #65 Karlsson and #55 Gonchar, despite the difference in size (6’ 180 lbs versus 6’2” 215 lbs respectfully), jersey number and last name.
Worst of all, Mr. Cole often rambles on when the play is ongoing. Please, listen to random samples of Bob Cole; he talks over the game instead of providing play by play commentary. He rarely provides an accurate description of what is taking place on the ice. As such, Mr. Cole is no longer able to perform the basic responsibilitie s of a play-by-play commentator.
There is enough talent to replace Mr. Cole; to let him continue would be to the detriment of his legacy.
Thank you,
Change Cole to Brown and you've described Brownie the Clownie perfectly.
just set it so its all one page, with the comments numbered now its easy to find where you left off.
thanks
Couple thoughts from last night
Awful effort froml the guys last night hopefully nerves from some
Jason Spezza needs too step up stop being a weak pushover
PP jesus chirst put the best players out there units are weak
Line ups put alfie with spezza and milo with turris better chemistry
And bottom 6 add muscle a size z klink smith neil all need to run and hit everything including hank
Amen,
This is some stupid leafs fans at CBC's way of sticking it to the Sens fans... put two Leaf fans as the announcers, so they can spew their idiotic leaf views on how to build a loser for almost 50 year... and how do you take 60 Million/yr and not make the playoffs for 8 years.
How aboutthis, take a lesson from BM/PM, and learn how to make the finals in 3 years, and how to rebuild a team in 6 months... dumbasses
You talk about others but not Spezza, wow! Look at his line in the box score, zeroes everywhere. Atrocious. And this guy is going to be our next captain, what a joke. Last night was a clear and defining reason as to why Spezza should never wear a C for the Sens on his chest, ever!
When the coach has to get in your ear and scream to wake you up, that says it all for me. Motivation at this time of year has to come from within. Pathetic, end of story, Spezza and his entire line was useless.
There was no push back by Ottawa. No physicality at all. Neil always saves his best games for home, well the guy better put in a hell of an effort to set the tone in G2 which is something you expect from him, but he failed badly last night too.
The difference in this game was so easy to see, the leaders showed up for NYR and the leaders for Ottawa disappeared like they do far too much in the playoffs!!!
CHIRP
I hope everything is OK...first playoff game in 2 years and no post game reaction?
Wouldn't surprise me at all! Great point. The guy is scum from what other people tell me when it comes to his personal life and how he deals with people. But when you write for a 2nd rate site in hockeybuzz that says it all for me. Guy is douche like you said. He left chirp hung out to dry but Chirp took the high road on it when he should have called him out!
Not feeling so bad about being in 20th '-)
Well folks I have some bad news, Chirp picked Ottawa to win last night and bet the farm, he is now under the St.Patrick bridge trying to steal wi-fi from the surrounding condos...
Losing Game 3 in Ottawa, will certainly kill their confidence, which will end the misery in being swept
4 straight.
Hope we win Game 2, and stretch the series to a Game 7 !!
BELIEVE IT !!!!!!!!!!
GO SENS GO !!!!!!!!!!!
Haha first playoff game in two years meant I was out enjoying it.
Finally back in front of the computer and working on today's post.
I'm tied for seventh and I've got a bunch of New Jersey players who haven't even hit the ice!
When a team focuses on a top player and line to shut down, it makes it hard for that one player to have any success. Even St Alfie was being targeted, but b/c he has two solid linemates they had some success. Spezza and MM9 are up against their top D, and Greening is not with them, from a creative standpoint, it is up to the others to rise up and create some chances
To me the turning point in the game is actually Karlsson getting sucker-punched and the refs not doing shit about it. If they did, we have the momentum and a long 5-3 to go with it...completely different hockey game.
Anyways, I actually thought the sens played a decent game, and I'm really looking forward to a win on Saturday!
GO SENS GO!!!