Ottawa Senators Facing Elimination, Fighting Towards Improbable
By Jack Leiper
The Senators avoided a 4-game sweep, now the attention shifts to Montreal, who on home ice has an easy chance to shut-down what has been a close series in terms of score.
Ottawa Senators
1-1-2
VS.
Montreal Canadiens
3-1-0
7:00 PM EST
Centre Bell, Montreal, PQ
CBC, TVA
SERIES HISTORY
You watched the first three games, you know how they went. Two devastating OT losses followed by a Game 4 win gives the Senators’ fans hope just due to how close the previous games were.
The Senators have held the lead longer than the Habs in this series and have never been down by more than one. For Ottawa, beating Carey Price has been the hardest task thus far as he has easily been Montreal’s MVP in this series.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mike Hoffman, OTT – that crazy shot of his was the only one that beat Price on Wednesday, and we may see Hoffman get the nod to start on the second line tonight. That’ll be a first for Hoffman in a while and hopefully he continues to generate chances around Price. Hoffman’s shot and speed could easily be the factor that helps lift Ottawa over Montreal.
P.K. Subban, MTL – to myself, aside from the game 2 goal, P.K. Subban has been a relatively non-factor in the series thus far. His slap-shot on the PP has not been seen as Montreal’s powerplay has been just awful. However, if P.K. is to take a step in the right direction tonight, watch out as he has the possibility to scare many on the PP.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Dominate Special Teams – So far, many of the calls have gone against Ottawa. Not saying they’ve been bad calls, but many of them were un-intelligent plays to make away from the puck or calls that didn’t need to be taken.
Luckily for Ottawa, Montreal’s powerplay has been atrocious. So, if Ottawa wants to look for a facet of the game to dominate look no further than special teams to be an area for the taking.
Dominate special teams, win the game.
2. Beat Carey early – As mentioned earlier, Carey Price has been Montreal’s best player all series long. If Ottawa can get off to a quick start, perhaps one or two goals, their odds of winning would certainly increase tonight. They were able to shut it down for the last 5 minutes on Wednesday, and may be required to again, as playing ahead will be much easier for this Senators squad who has had trouble beating Price this series.
3. Shut. It. Down – That’s the key that ties in with #2. If they can beat Carey Price early, shut the game down. Play with pressure, but remain smart in all ends of the ice. The giveaways we’ve seen need to stop, but Craig Anderson will give Ottawa every chance to stay in the lead.
Stay out of the box, limit giveaways, play safe. Shut it down and shift the series back to Ottawa in hopes of forcing a game 7.
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There it is. Senators vs Habs, game 5. Tonight will be a big shifting point in the series as if Ottawa does find a way to squeak out the W, they have a realistic shot. Game 6 is in Ottawa, and allows the Sens to shift it to a game 7.
I have a feeling they aren’t done yet.
Check out the pre-game prediction contest, from Senators Nation Live.
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