After three consecutive losses to close out their season, including an ugly loss to the Devils in their season finale, the Ottawa Senators have slipped into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
And thanks to that slide in the standings, the Sens will now open the Stanley Cup playoffs against the number one seed in the East, Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers
Over the past two weeks, it appeared as though the Sens were on a collision course with the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins but that changed thanks to Ottawa's late season slump. And while the Rangers are by no means a pushover, their is a sense among the Sens fan base that the Rangers are a better matchup.
That confidence comes from a strong showing in the season series. Ottawa took three of four from the Rangers, including a couple impressive wins at Madison Square Garden.
We'll have a full breakdown of this series tomorrow afternoon but it seems pretty clear this this best of seven will come down to goaltending. Henrik Lundqvist has had an MVP type season but if Craig Anderson can match him, the Senators may have a shot at upsetting the top seed in the East.
The full schedule for round one will be released today at 1:00 PM. The Sens have a full day off today and will return to the practice ice tomorrow morning.
Happy Easter everyone!
