Sens play giveaway in Game 1 loss
Ottawa turnovers allow visiting Bruins to steal playoff opener with two third-period goals
Guy Boucher couldn’t hide his frustration with his Ottawa Senators.
Now they have to find a way to get up off the mat.
The first round of the NHL playoffs certainly didn’t start the way the Senators would have envisioned after they dropped a 2-1 decision to the Boston Bruins Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 18,702 at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre in the opener of their Eastern Conference quarter-final.
Boston’s Brad Marchand scored the winner with 2:33 left in the third period to give the Bruins the early edge in the series. Frank Vatrano had tied it up earlier in the third period, while only Bobby Ryan was able to score for Ottawa.
Both Boston goals were the result of turnovers in the Ottawa zone and Boucher didn’t hide the fact he felt his team gave this one away.
“There were two shifts where we just gave it to them,” said the steaming Senators coach. “There was just giveaway after giveaway after giveaway. One guy gets it, gives it back to them, we defend well against it, we give it back to them, we give it back to them. When you give it back three times or four times to your opponent ... it’s the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’ll hurt you.”
Had it not been for goaltender Tuukka Rask, the Bruins wouldn’t have got away with the win, but he shut the door when it counted the most with 26 saves. He made a huge stop on Ottawa’s Mark Stone with eight seconds left that would have tied it, but Senators captain Erik Karlsson wasn’t pleased with the team’s overall performance.
“It just wasn’t a 60-minute effort tonight,” said Karlsson. “It’s a tight game, anything can happen. We’re going to move on from this one. It was a close one.”
The playoffs are all about momentum. The Bruins tied it up at 1-1 at 4:55 of the third period on the first shot Boston had on Senators goaltender Craig Anderson in a span of 25:03. Vatrano fired a shot from the slot that beat Anderson high on the blocker side.
The Senators were likely stunned the Bruins were able to get back into this one.
“We couldn’t get the puck out. We got a little bit cute in the third and we were worried about where we were going to put it instead of making sure it got out,” Karlsson said.
The Senators took the play to the Bruins in the second. Not only did they pull ahead 1-0, but they rebounded from a difficult start in the first frame by holding Boston to no shots in the period. That’s the first time in Ottawa’s playoff history that they haven’t allowed an opponent to record a shot in a period.
Ryan, who started the night on the fourth line, opened the scoring at 10:28 of the second period to give the Senators the upper hand. He did a good job of driving to the front of the net and had showed great second effort to slide the loose puck past Rask to send the crowd into hysterics.
“They outplayed us when it counted in the third period. At the same time, there were a lot of positives, we had a lot of chances. We’re going to have to find a way to score more than one,” said Ryan.
The Bruins weren’t pleased with Mark Borowiecki. The Ottawa defenceman was handed a tripping penalty with 15:08 left in the second when he hit Boston defenceman Colin Miller, who had to be helped off the ice. Miller returned briefly but didn’t finish the night. The Bruins won’t be happy with the fact that Borowiecki only received a two-minute minor for the hit.
Through the first period, the Senators and Bruins were tied 0-0. The Senators owned the play over the first 10 minutes, and both teams had to rely on their goalies to make big stops.
Moments after David Pastrnak failed to get a shot off on Anderson on a breakaway, Rask made a huge pad stop on Brassard, who was in alone.
“Their goalie played well. We had a lot of opportunities. We just couldn’t seem to get those second and third opportunities to put them away,” said Senators winger Clarke MacArthur. “There was mistakes on both ends and they were able to capitalize.
“It’s a tough one, but we’re set up for a long series against them and I like our speed and our compete level. You have to take positives out of the game. It’s tough, but you have to do it.”
Game 2 of the series goes Saturday at 3 p.m. in Ottawa.