The Ottawa Senators skated with the Pittsburgh Penguins and stayed even with them for 39 minutes.  It was a very frustrating final 21 minutes at Ottawa couldn’t find the elixir to solve Tomas Vokoun, or even too many situations, to force him to make a save.  The epitome of the frustration of the Senators and their fans came with over 8 minutes left and the 4 officials on the ice all missed a blatant Matt Cooke slash to the face of Erik Karlsson.

When the dust had settled, Tyler Kennedy‘s goal with 1:07 left in the second period was the difference as Tomas Vokoun recorded his second shutout of the playoffs to give the Penguins a commanding 3-0 series lead.

CUE THE “WAYNE’S WORLD/ HOLLYWOOD REWIND/ DREAM SEQUENCE MUSIC

SHAME ON ME, BECAUSE, YES, THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED:

Then, while killing a penalty in the final minute, Daniel Alfredsson knifes in and deflects a Milan Michalek pass over the shoulder of Vokoun to send the game to extra time.  Colin Greening was the hero, scoring 7:39 into overtime to get the Senators back into the series, now just trailing 2-1 instead of being in the insurmountable 3-0 hole that they were 30 seconds away from falling into.

May 19, 2013; Ottawa, ON, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun (92) makes a save on a shot by the Ottawa Senators in the second period in game three of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Scotiabank Place. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

GAME RECAP

The first period got off to a better start for the Senators in front of a partisan crowd.  The first period was scoreless, with Pittburgh having the better scoring chances for the most part, but Ottawa set the physical tone, with big hits from unlikely sources like Sergei Gonchar and Andre Benoit.  Ottawa killed off the first penalty of the game with Craig Anderson standing tall, while the insurgence of Jason Spezza provided some offensive depth  and overall confidence in the Pittsburgh end.  Erik Karlsson also seemed to be skating better, and despite taking a late penalty that would carry over to the second period, it would have to be considered a winning period for Ottawa, to be scoreless through 1.

To compound Ottawa’s concern, they took a too many men on the ice penalty and gave up a 59 second 5 on 3.  The trio of Colin Greening, Chris Phillips and Erik Karlsson killed it off admirably, aided by a trio of incredible saves by Anderson.  They continued the penalty kill and successfully shut down the rest of the Penguins man advantage. Ottawa gained momentum after a Sidney Crosby penalty, and they maintained that through much of the period.  Most of the play was in the Penguin’s end of the ice, at least until the dying minutes.  The crowd was brought to its feet by a big hit by Marc Methot on Matt Cooke, but then moments later was silenced when a turnover resulted in Tyler Kennedy in the slot alone with the puck.  Kennedy’s well placed shot beat Anderson and went off the cross-bar and in to open the scoring with 1:07 remaining.

The third period was not as action packed as the first two, as the Penguins did their best to clog up any shooting lanes and make things difficult for the Senators.  they succeeded for the most part, and Ottawa helped them out by shooting high and wide as many times as they hit the net.   Then just when you though it was over, as stated above, Alfredsson donned his cape and extended the game with his shorthanded marker with 29 seconds remaining.

The first overtime was ridiculously exciting, with numerous scoring chances from both sides, but both Vokoun and Anderson stood firm.  Excuse the lack of more detail, but at the edge of your seat there isn’t much room for note-taking.    The second overtime saw each team have to kill a penalty, and then Colin Greening backhanded home a rebound off Benoit’s shot to make the roof fly off the building in Ottawa.

OBSERVATIONS

• As frustrating as the officiating was, the Senators were their own worst enemy.  Too many shots that went nowhere near the net resulted in too many offensive zone.
• And now to address the officiating.  While twitter was abuzz over the incompetence of the officiating most of the night, in my opinion it wasn’t over the top until the missed call on Cooke. The call in OT on Phillips had to be made although you could argue that Cooke was hooking Phillips as much as Phillips was holding Cooke’s stick.  In the end, this game won’t be showing up on the highlight reel at Officiating School this summer.
• After being the only forward without a point in the first round, Greening now has goals in 3 straight games in the second round, none more important than this game winner.

SENSHOT’S PLAYER OF THE GAME

Without a doubt, going into the series Craig Anderson was going to have to steal a game or two if Ottawa was going to be competitive and make it a long series.  That is exactly what he did on Sunday night, making 49 saves for the win.

19-11-6, 44 points = 6th Eastern Conference

VS.

14-17-6, 34 points = 12th Eastern Conference

7.00 PM

TV: Rogers Sportsnet, Radio: Team 1200

HEAD TO HEAD

Their previous meeting was a 4-3 OT win in Buffalo on March 16th.  Kyle Turris scored the power-play winner at 3.54 of overtime with the assists going to veterans Daniel Alfredsson and Sergei Gonchar.  Ben Bishop got the win while facing 34 shots and Ryan Miller took the loss while facing 36 shots.  Craig Anderson is ready to return from his ankle injury but MacLean has not made any announcements as to his starter for tomorrow’s game.

Mar. 16, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Steve Ott (9) skates with the puck and looks to make a pass against the Ottawa Senators at First Niagara Center. Ottawa beats the Sabres 4 to 3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

LAST GAMES

The Ottawa Senators are looking to rebound from their loss against the Boston Bruins.  It was their 4^th loss in as many meetings against them this season.  The Senators were keeping pace with just about everything the Bruins were throwing at them except a little bit of puck luck in front of Robin Lehner.  The Bruins fired 50 shots at Lehner and the Senators fired 47 at Anton Khudobin.  It was an uncharacteristic game where each team traded chances and got away from their normal tight-checking affairs.  Unfortunately, Bruins fans left happier than Senators fans by the time the final buzzer sounded.

Buffalo Sabres’ last game was Tuesday, a 4-1 win over the Pittsburg Penguins.  It broke a 15 game-winning streak by the Penguins at their Consol Energy Center and also broke a 4 game losing streak by the Sabres.  One thing’s for sure – Jason Pominville won’t be named one of the game’s stars as he was shipped to the Minnesota Wild yesterday at the NHL’s trading deadline.  Other teammates that have been moved recently included TJ Brennan, Jordan Leopold and Robyn Regehr.  If Thomas Vanek hasn’t returned from injury, goals may be harder to come by.  Cody Hodgson is the only other Sabre with a goal total in the double digits – he sits at 13 for the season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Colin Greening, OTT – has 3 goals and 1 assist in his last 5 games.  Greening’s been a versatile player when used throughout the line-up.  He was a healthy scratch earlier in the season and watched one game from the press box – ever since then he’s responded well and played his game.  His offense has come alive recently and his hard work has been paying off.  Many speculated that his 1^st season in the NHL playing on a line with Jason Spezza had inflated his numbers, but this season he projects to finish with only 1 less goal (16) and he’s improved his plus/minus while doing it.  This is Greening’s second full NHL season.

Cody Hodgson, BUFF – will be tasked with leading the offence into battle against the stingy Senators.  It looks like it may be an uphill battle as Buffalo has also traded two veteran defensemen from their back end, a presence that helped get the puck out of their zone.  Hodgson has 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points in 34 games.  The Sabres must be happy with their acquisition as he would be on pace, in a regular season, to finish with nearly 63 points.  No word on whether or not newly acquired players Matt Hackett or Johan Larsson will be in their lineup.

3 STORYLINES FOR THE GAME

1. Goaltending – who’s going to get the nod?  Anderson is suppose to be ready to play – will MacLean decide to put him in or will he reward Robin Lehner for his fine play in the lose against Boston a few nights ago?

1. How will the Buffalo Sabres react to the loss of three defensemen over the past weeks?  How will their team offense work with their current top scorer, Thomas Vanek, on the sidelines and their former captain, team leader and third leading goal-scorer traded away?  Can their goaltenders rise to the occasion and accomplish what they haven’t been able to all season long – steal some games?

1. Cory Conacher was put on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Jakob Silfverberg at today’s practice.  MacLean said it was to “find the best place for him to have success early”.  It should be interesting to see how 93 and 33 play with another explosive skater on their line and how the Sabres’ depleted defense handles the pressure.  Since recovering from his health issues Guillaume Latendresse has been a very effective player for the Senators.  Wouldn’t be great if he can bring some chemistry and offense to another line?

 PARTING SHOT

Paul MacLean will have his team on high alert.  Buffalo should be good for two points with their current rebuild in affect and the change in personnel but no one – especially the Ottawa Senators – can afford to take their foot off the pedal.  This road trip will have implications on the matchups that occur in the play-offs and the way they play their Eastern Conference foes will help determine the game plan going forward.  All hands on deck – this is the hardest part of the schedule and a proving ground for many of the young Senators who’ll soon be called upon to pick up the gauntlet and take a run at the play-offs.  Go-Sens-Go!