Sens respond to sense of urgency
Overtime win over Bruins in Game 2 positions Ottawa much better for trip south to Boston
BOSTON — The Ottawa Senators were all smiles Sunday.
Why not? The picture looks pretty good for the Senators at the moment.
As the East Conference quarter-final against the Bruins moves to the TD Garden for Game 3 Monday night and Game 4 Wednesday tied 1-1, the Senators know if they can pick up where they left in a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory Saturday afternoon at home, then they’ve got a chance to be in good shape for Game 5 Friday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
No, the Senators weren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination in Game 2 when they erased a twogoal deficit to help set up defenceman Dion Phaneuf ’s game-winning goal, but they took steps in the right direction and the message from coach Guy Boucher Sunday was that there are still areas the club needs to work on.
Only a handful of players went on the ice after a team meeting and video session at Boston’s practice facility in the nearby suburb Brighton, Mass.
“Keep growing,” Boucher said when asked what he told the players Sunday. “It’s been the same since Day 1, since training camp, and get better every day. Every playoff I’ve been involved in, if you’ve got a team that’s evolving, you’ve got a better chance so you want to focus on a few things that we want to clean up or keep.
“In that second period, we gave the (Bruins) stuff that we don’t normally give and it wasn’t a lack of effort. It was a tremendous effort, it just wasn’t necessarily a smart effort in the second so we want to make sure that we have a better mix. The first game we were tentative in the third period and (Saturday) we were too aggressive in the second period. There’s a balance we can and that’s when we’re at our best.”
The Senators know they’ve won nothing yet and there’s lots of work to be done if they’re going to win this series.
“We just have to stick with it and not get too high,” said winger Zack Smith. “We’ve got a few more games to go here. We’re back in Boston and it’s going to be a little different atmosphere.
“They’re going to come out hard in their building. If we’re close to matching our first periods in the first two games, I think we’ll be able to settle down pretty well.”
The first two games have served notice to the Senators if they thought the Bruins were going to back down because they’re now without four of their blueliners — Torey Krug, Brandon Carlo, Colin Miller and Adam McQuaid, who left Saturday — then Ottawa players can certainly erase any of those thoughts from their minds.
The Bruins have battled tooth and nail to overcome the injuries, which is why the Senators understand they have to do a better job for 60 minutes.
“They’ve been doing a heck of a job with the injuries they have. They’re in every game and have a chance so we’ve got a lot of work to do yet,” said winger Clarke MacArthur, who opened the scoring in Game 2. “We’ve just got to tighten up a few things, I think.
“There’s just a few minor things. We’ve got to get more traffic in front of the net. It showed (Saturday). You’ve got to have guys in front. It’s tough getting there. They’ve got some big boys like (Zdeno) Chara that make it tough getting there, so you’ve got to fight hard to get to the spots we need to be in.”
Phaneuf’s winning goal at 1:59 of OT is a great example of what MacArthur is talking about, to have success on Bruins’ goalie Tuukka Rask. Sure, it was a blast by Phaneuf for his first career OT winning goal that kept the club from falling into a 2-0 hole in the series, but Alex Burrows did a tremendous job screening Rask in front.
At this point of the season, Boucher doesn’t want to confuse the players, so he’s not about to change the approach. Adjustments are made, however, because he hasn’t been completely satisfied with the way the Senators have played in the first two games. They’re not about to throw a wrench in the game plan.
The Senators were 22-17-2 on the road this season, so they should have no shortage of confidence going into the Garden.
“The fact we get that win now, coming into enemy territory, is big for us as a team,” said defenceman Marc Methot, who made his debut in the series Saturday after missing 10 games with a lacerated finger. “We seem to thrive on the road. It’s huge. I’m hoping that will work to our benefit over the next couple (of games).”
The next two games will go a long way in deciding this series for the Senators.