Senators doing it the right way

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators’ 1-3-1 neutral zone alignment is annoying and frustrating as hell for Bruins fans to watch — and the same, of course, for the players in Black and Gold trying to figure out how to beat it.

But man-oh-man, what an effective brand of hockey the Ottawa Senators play. Sens coach Guy Boucher may be dismissed in some circles as a bit of an eccentric — maybe a nut is more like it — but he has his club playing the game the way it should be played.

The Sens play tremendous defense in the middle of the rink — and when they steal the puck as they so frequently do — they counterattack with speed and intensity.

Despite their epidemic of injuries, the Bruins have done a remarkably good job in their return to the postseason. In each of the first two games here and the two at the Garden, the B’s played exceedingly well and had a real chance to win.

The fact that the Bruins, down 3-1, face elimination tonight in Game 5 in no way takes away from what they’ve done — especially with the adversity of losing Torey Krug, David Krejci, Brandon Carlo, Adam McQuaid, et al., and the presence in their lineups of 11 players with no previous playoff experience.

But the series really has been more about the superb play of the Senators, from unorthodox goalie Craig Anderson, out. Assuming the B’s don’t win three successive games, the Sens will advance — and they have the look of a group that might just be sticking around for quite a while in this postseason, maybe even all the way to a parade.

We live in an era in which “experts” who don’t actually know much about hockey are constantly banging the drums about the need to “play fast.” What matters for them are young legs, speed, up-tempo play and dangle-the-puck skills. Guys who earn their living by defending well or playing with toughness and grit are written off as obsolete dinosaurs.

But critics focused on the dangles overlook the foundation of the sport. It all starts with defense — especially in the playoffs.

Sure, speed and skill are valuable and necessary, and a central element of play during the regular season. But the playoffs are a different sort of animal. You need the speed, but you also need the ability to check and defend. Put them together, as Boucher’s club does, and you’ve got something special.

“They do a phenomenal job in the neutral zone, just getting pucks out (turnovers) quickly — and they have a great transition game,” said Bruin Noel Acciari. “It’s tough at times.”

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, and at times in the Sens’ 1-0 Game 4 win Wednesday, the B’s looked just like their opponent. With no easy forecheck available, they backed off into something like a 1-3-1 neutral zone setup and waited for the Sens to try to advance the puck.

The Bruins also have checked and defended quite well in this series, even with all the glaring holes on the roster.

Unfortunately, the fellow with the puck running the show for the Senators is often defenseman Erik Karlsson, who has enjoyed a brilliant series.

Karlsson’s shot/pass that set up Bobby Ryan for the lone goal Wednesday night was a creative thing of beauty. He sold the shot from the right point so well that Tuukka Rask moved out to cut down the angle, then slid a perfect pass to Ryan in the left circle. Ryan looked surprised suddenly to have the puck and it initially bounced off him.

It was the Bruins’ bad luck that the puck caromed perfectly, so that Ryan could move deeper and slip the rubber behind Rask.

On our NHL awards ballot a couple of weeks back, we selected San Jose’s Brent Burns as the top pick for the Norris Trophy. And in spite of what Karlsson has shown, that vote would be no different today.

But Karlsson is just an astonishing player: So quick, his head always up, seeing everything, with uncanny skills with his stick. Indeed, as they’ve tried to find their way through the Sens’ smothering neutral zone, so many times Bruins have been smart and patient and waited until they saw an open target — only to have a Sens player still manage to get his stick on the puck and ruin the play.

The Bruins aren’t dead yet. If they can finish a few plays tonight, they can get this series back to Boston.