Boucher’s message: Don’t stop pushing
Senators get confidence boost with win, but series with Boston is far from over
The Ottawa Senators were all smiles Sunday. And why not? The picture looks pretty good for the Senators at the moment.
As their Eastern Conference quarter-final against the Boston Bruins moves to TD Garden for Game 3 on Monday and Game 4 on Wednesday tied 1-1, the Senators know if they can pick up where they left off in Saturday’s thrilling 4-3 overtime victory at home, they’ve got a chance to be in good shape for Game 5 on Friday back in the capital.
No, the Senators weren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination in Game 2, needing to erase a two-goal deficit to help set up defenceman Dion Phaneuf’s game-winning goal, but they took steps in the right direction and on Sunday, head coach Guy Boucher identified 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 (strike), 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 take this series.
“We just have to stick with it and not get too high,” winger Zack Smith said. “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 served notice to the Senators. If they thought the Bruins were going to back down because they’re without four of their blue-liners — Torey Krug, Brandon Carlo, Colin Miller and Adam McQuaid, who left Saturday — they can think again. The Bruins 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.
The Senators were 22-17-2 on the road this season, so they should have no shortage of confidence going into Boston.
“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 due to a finger injury.
“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).”