NHL parity reflected in chase for the Cup

The Ottawa Senators didn’t expect to blow out the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final.

“No, no, definitely not,” Senators winger Mike Hoffman said after the 5-1 trouncing of the defending champs Wednesday night. “I would’ve said before the game it was going to be a one-goal game.”

And with good reason. The NHL is headed for a record-breaking number of one-goal games this spring with 46 heading into Game 4 of the Western Conference final Thursday night, including 25 in overtime. Six more and the 2007 record of 51 will fall.

“I think just throughout the league it’s so tight now,” Clarke MacArthur, another Sens winger, said. “Even the best team. You look at Pittsburgh, they’ve got all-stars, but all the games are (close).”

No team has played more close hockey in these playoffs than the Sens.

Eleven of their 15 games have been decided by a goal, with eight resulting in wins. It’s not an accident, either. The Sens play an extremely defensive brand of hockey designed by head coach Guy Boucher.

Boucher’s group was just above average with 40 games decided by a goal during the regular season. Detroit led the league with 45.

“There’s so many good players nowadays that can score very easily or make plays with not much time and space, that’s really what we try and focus on in here is to key in on their good guys and not give them oddman rushes,” Hoffman said.

Pittsburgh was the highestscoring team during the regular season, but has mustered only three goals through three games against Ottawa. Sidney Crosby, who led the NHL with 44 goals, has one goal.

“You defend them well ... you’re keying on the top players now,” MacArthur said.

“You’re literally building your shift around keeping them off the scoreboard. I’d hate to be one of the top guys.”

MacArthur wondered if increased speed (and fewer enforcer types) across the league made for more even competition.

“There’s just no bad skaters, really, anymore,” he said. “They’re used to be five, six guys on each team where you’re like, ‘That guy can’t really move out here. He’s more of a shutdown guy or crash-and-bang (type).’ Everyone can skate now.”

Stellar goaltending might also be helping. Collective save percentage so far in these playoffs is .921 heading into Thursday’s play, trumping the .917 mark of last season.

Winning the game’s top prize inevitably means winning close games and it’s perhaps not surprising the team with the most one-goal wins has taken the last four Cups, including Pittsburgh with eight in 2016. Ottawa is the current leader. “It’s so tight,” Predators head coach Peter Laviolette said. “The scores at this time of the year generally are fairly low. And you wonder if 1-0 is going to do it for the night.”