Yes, on the day that Eric Gryba was handed a 2 games ban for his hit on Lars Eller, Brandon Prust and Michel Therrien hurled insults in the direction of Paul MacLean, it was a combination of some uncharacteristic play as well as an inept power play that proved to be the Senators’ undoing in game 2.  Carey Price also bounced back with a solid and sometimes spectacular performance, outplaying Craig Anderson and with those factors the predictable result was a 3-1 Montreal victory.

May 3, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Ryan White (53) hits Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot (3) during the third period of game two of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

GAME RECAP

Montreal came out inspired in the first period, continuing the strategy of firing shots at Anderson from anywhere and everywhere.  A night after making 48 saves in the win, Anderson was up to the task, turning away 14 shots.  After killing off the first penalty, awarded to Sergei Gonchar whose stick came up after he was slew-footed by Habs pest Brendan Gallagher, Ottawa missed a chance to get on the board early by getting 3 power plays of their own as the Candiens had some scrambly play. Ottawa couldn’t get the needed pressure with the man advantage, which would come back to haunt  them later.  Even with the 3-1 power play advantage, the Habs outshot the Senators 14-8 but the score was even at 0′s.

A 53 second span early in the second period would prove to be the Senators’ undoing.  First, Erik Karlsson‘s backhand, cross-ice saucer pass attempt while skating in the wrong direction was plucked out of the air by Ryan White who knocked it towards the Ottawa net and through a startled Craig Anderson, who fanned on the attempt to turn it aside.  Then just after Kyle Turris had a great opportunity to even the score quickly, Montreal came back down and the Senators left Gallagher all alone in front of the net and the puck squirted out to him and before Turris could tie him up the pesky Habs forward had made it 2-0 just 4:13 into the second.  Ottawa got one of those goals back just over 4 minutes later as a delayed penalty to the Canadiens allowed Anderson to get to the bench for an extra attacker.  Chris Phillips fired a point shot that was tipped on the way in by Milan Michalek and past Price.  The deathblow to the Senators came with just over a minute left, as Ottawa was guilty of puck watching and allowed Michael Ryder to get free at the side of the net.  Rene Bourque carried the puck into traffic in the slot area and it slipped out to Ryder who quickly put it past a diving Anderson.  After 40 minutes Montreal held a 3-1 lead.

A pair of tired teams played the third period, and Ottawa didn’t have much left in the tank as they tried their best but couldn’t find a way to pull the trigger as the Ryder goal seemed to let any air out of the Senators’ sails.  They couldn’t muster much of an attack as the Canadiens did a good job of clogging up the passing lanes and denying Ottawa entry in to the Habs’ zone.  When all was said and done, a good win for the Canadiens and both teams move a couple of hours down the highway for Sunday evening’s game 3 in Ottawa after Montreal evened the series with a 3-1 final.

OBSERVATIONS

• It was a pretty inconspicuous play, but during the first period Erik Karlsson was knocked off balance and kind of did a pirouette on his recently repaired leg.  I am not sure he didn’t tweak something on the play because he was not the same player Ottawa fans have come to know and love.  He didn’t have the breakaway speed nor did he have his usual dominant effect.  He still played almost 30 minutes,but he made some uncharacteristic plays, such as the weak pass in the slot that led to the game’s opening goal.
• I was surprised to see Andre Benoit in the lineup as opposed to Patrick Wiercioch.  At this point, Wiercioch adds more than Benoit at both ends of the ice, and Benoit hadn’t played Since April 12th, and although he had an assist on the Ottawa goal, he didn’t exactly set the world on fire.   I am not sure why Paul MacLean didn’t use Wiercioch to start the series in Gryba’s spot, let alone replace him after he got suspended.
• This game goes to show just how important goaltending really is.  Anderson has a slightly off game and didn’t get much help and Ottawa doesn’t have the offensive firepower to overcome it.

SENSHOT’S PLAYER OF THE GAME

I would be hard pressed to identify a Senators player who really stood out and played above the call of duty.  And since it is our custom to put a Senators player in this spot win or lose, I will pass on naming a player of the game.  Because I refuse to give it to Montreal #8 after his comments directed towards MacLean.

UP NEXT

Scotiabank Place will be an interesting environment Sunday night as the Senators make their home playoff debut.  What level of Montreal fans gained access to tickets and what will their presence be?

OTHER GAMES OF THE NIGHT

Chicago goes up 2-0 on Minnesota

Islanders stun Penguins 4-3 to even series at 1

Sharks Shock Canucks in OT, take 2-0 series lead

May 2, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson (41) makes a save on Montreal Canadiens right wing Rene Bourque (17) shot during the second period in game one of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

GAME RECAP

The game started with both teams kind of feeling each other out, trying to figure how they were going to play this game. Craig Anderson showed everyone early that he was ready for this game and made some key saves, the first of many. How great was it to see Erik Karlsson open up the scoring for the Sens? He rushed up the ice like we’ve seen him do countless times this season and create the scoring chance himself pretty much shooting towards Kyle Turris who then redirected it to Karlsson in which it was tipped passed Carey Price. In other words King K pretty much did everything to give the Sens the one goal lead.

Montreal came out firing, quite literally shooting 27 times at Anderson. They would eventually score a little bit after the mid way part of the period after P.K. Subban passed the puck to Rene Bourque who then backhanded it passed the Sens goal keeper. Literally second later the Eric Gryba hit happened (See link to story above) and the Habs received a lengthy 5 minute power play. The home team capitalized once to take the 2-1 lead on Brendan Gallagher‘s goal on a nice passing play from Thomas Plekkanec and Alex Galchenyuk.

After the second period had ended it really looked as if the Habs had the momentum  going into the 3rd after that power play goal. But the Sens came out fighting into the final period desperate to try and tie the game. The Sens actually out-shot the Habs in this period and came out hitting a little much which threw off the Habs a little bit; at least enough to mount a comeback. To begin the comeback and tie the game, Jakob Silfverberg showed off his great release on a pass from Mika Zibanejad and he ripped it passed Carey Price to tie it up at 2. A couple minutes later it was the Ottawa born, Marc Methot who gave the Sens the 3-2 lead with a shot from the point that found its way into the back of the net. He was credited with the game winner. To get some insurance Guillaume Latendresse would eventually score on a goal that was reviewed but deemed good after it was overlooked. Latendresse scores his first of the playoffs against his former club to make it 4-2, which would end up being the final.

SENSHOT THOUGHTS

• Not hard to find players who had great games. I thought Marc Methot showed why Bryan Murray has been trying to trade for him for so long. What a solid game from the Ottawa native. Jakob Silfverberg, the Swedish Elite league playoff MVP, put in a MVP like game tonight finishing with a goal and an assist. Thought Erik Karlsson also had a good game but isn’t that an occurance on pretty much every game? I think it’s kind of expected now.
• Craig Anderson. He deserves a point in this section on his own. He continues to show he excels with a lot of shots on net., finishing the game with 48 saves. He was a MAJOR part of the Sens win. All he did was make big save after big save, keeping the Sens in the game all night long.
• If the Sens can keep playing like they did tonight and like they did in the 3rd period, they will succeed in this series. I thought they played a very good road game in what continues to be a trend lately as the Sens have now won 5 straight games on the road.

SENSHOT 3 STARS

1. Craig Anderson – 48 saves on 50 shots
2. Brendan Gallagher – 1 goal, 8 shots
3. Marc Methot – 1 goal, 1 assist, plus 3, 22:21 minutes played

UP NEXT

The Sens will be right back at it tomorrow night as they will play game 2 of round one. Should be a pretty similar game, as we wait and see what happens with the Eric Gryba situation. Game is same time, same place, same channel!