SENS TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS IN OT
Ottawa sets franchise record with five extra-time victories in this year’s playoffs
The numbers are in.
And the Ottawa Senators are halfway toward tying the Montreal Canadiens — the last Canadian squad to win the Stanley Cup — for the most overtime victories in a single playoff year.
Kyle Turris’s extra-time goal in Game 5 Saturday against the New York Rangers was the Senators’ fifth overtime winner of the first two rounds.
Dion Phaneuf, Bobby Ryan and Clarke MacArthur ended games 2, 3 and 6 in the opening round against the Boston Bruins.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau capped his four-goal explosion in Game 2 against New York with the double-overtime winner.
The Senators have already won three overtime games at Canadian Tire Centre, only one shy of the home-ice overtime record, shared by the 1993 Canadiens and 1968 St. Louis Blues. Their five overtime wins overall also establishes a new franchise record, originally set in 2003.
“It’s just something that we don’t give up,” Turris said after taking his turn in the big goal spotlight. “It’s tough mentally sticking with it and physically trying to wear them down. You’ve just got to keep the faith that we’re going to get the one we need when we need it.”
He did, however, let out a hearty laugh when asked if pulling out tight games becomes easier because of the experience the Senators have in close game. “No,” he said. “It’s never easy.” As has been the case with the Senators throughout the regular season and playoffs, the Senators insist they’ve put Saturday’s victory behind them. All eyes are set on eliminating the Rangers.
“I don’t remember what happened yesterday or the day before,” said goaltender Craig Anderson. “And when you’re on the winning side of things, you try to forget about anything else that happened.”
While on the subject of statistics and with an extra practice day before Tuesday’s Game 6, Postmedia takes a closer look at some intriguing playoff numbers surrounding the Senators and Rangers.
THE COMEBACK KIDS
The Rangers have scored the first goal in all five games, but the Senators own a 3-2 record. Including the Boston series, the Senators have now won five games when allowing the first goal.
Not surprisingly, that’s the most in the NHL playoffs. Their .714 winning percentage in that category (5-2) ranks second only to Anaheim’s .750 mark (3-1).
In three of the come-frombehind victories, including Saturday, the Senators rallied from two or more goals to win.
SIX PACK
When leading a series 3-2, the Senators have a 2-4 record all-time in Game 6. The wins came in 1998 against New Jersey and 2003 versus Philadelphia. The losses came in 1997 against Buffalo, against Toronto in 2002 and 2004 and versus the Rangers in 2012.
SEVENTH UN-HEAVEN
Should the Senators lose Tuesday and come back to Canadian Tire Centre for Game 7 Thursday, they’ll be battling some tough franchise history. The club has never won in five previous series that have gone the distance. That includes all of the above Game 6 losses, coupled with the Game 7 defeat to New Jersey in the 2003 Eastern Conference final ... The Senators lost games 3 and 4 in New York. In their 15 previous series where they lost consecutive games, they never advanced.
DRAWING NOTICE
In the opening five games, the Senators have owned the faceoff circle with a 185-156 mark (54.2 per cent). Jean-Gabriel Pageau has gone 63-45 (58.3 per cent) ... Pageau’s six playoff goals ranked him fourth in the post-season behind Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel and Ryan Getzlaf and Jakob Silfverberg of Anaheim before Sunday’s games.
THE KARLSSON FACTOR
Erik Karlsson had his first three-point playoff game Saturday. He has 10 assists in 11 playoff games, tops among defencemen in the NHL. He has already set a team record for most assists and points (11) by a defenceman in one post-season. Karlsson has also averaged 28:57 of ice time per game, trailing only Minnesota’s Ryan Suter (29:06).
You’ve just got to keep the faith that we’re going to get the one we need when we need it.
POWERING DOWN
The Senators enter Tuesday’s game having squandered their past 12 power-play opportunities. They’re 1-for-16 in the series with Ryan Dzingel’s Game 1 goal representing their only tally. The Senators rank 13th among the 16 playoff teams with a 15.4 per cent efficiency overall. The Rangers are 3-for-20 on the power play against the Senators.