It feels like forever since the Ottawa Senators last took to the ice. Tonight they get back to it at Canadian Tire Centre looking to pile the pressure on the New York Rangers.
It’s going to be a battle from the pipes up as two in-form goalies face off against each other. Anderson possesses a .921 whereas Lundqvist boasts a daunting .947. Anderson doesn’t even have the better GAA with a 1.94, Henrik sliding in with a cool 1.70. Attempting to avoid all cliché this is where most likely the series is going to be won and lost. Both sides whilst containing talented players don’t yield the individual stars of say a Washington or Pittsburgh. Therefore with the depth of both teams it will be down to who can get more shots off and hope for some puck luck against two incredible goaltenders.
New York possess the more talented team all-round (the defence is certainly up for debate) I would say and their depth extends to every line, Ottawa didn’t necessarily face that against the Boston Bruins so it will be an interesting matchup.
Regular Season Head 2 Head
The Ottawa Senators faced the New York Rangers three times during the regular season, besting them twice. The statistics make good reading for the Ottawa Senators fans, 89-77 in terms of shots, 8-5 in goals, 1-10 on the PK and 106-81 on faceoffs. These are certainly positives to takeaway from the regular season meetings. I’ve said in previous articles that regular season form against a team should be disregarded in the playoffs, but maybe they shouldn’t. Take a look at that Boston series, Ottawa were the better team throughout just like in the regular season. Ottawa exploited the same frailties albeit conceded from the weaknesses Boston knew how to exploit.
Playing Against A Healthy D-Core
A new one for the Ottawa Senators in this year’s playoffs and it should concern them. The likes of McAvoy impressed however they were never made to suffer at the hands of the Ottawa offense. Goals in this first game should settle the nerves and allow the Sens to play their game and operate The System.