No early ambush as Senators drop opener

by Wayne Scanlan
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/hockey/ottawa-senators/index.html
May 14, 2013


Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) collides with Ottawa Senators' Jean-Gabriel Pageau (44) in the third period of Game 1. (AP)

For the first time this spring, the Senators are trailing in a playoff series.

After dropping the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinal 4-1 to the Penguins, the Senators will have two long days to prepare for Game 2 Friday.

Ottawa had its moments in Game 1. For 18 minutes of the middle period of a 2-1 game, the visitors lulled the Penguins into a dull stretch of hockey that served the Senators well. They would take their chances in the third period testing out their pesky ways in a one-goal game.

If only the Penguins hadn’t made it a two-goal margin on a late holding penalty by Cory Conacher. Did we mention the Penguins power play is lethal? Running at an NHL-best 34.7 per cent in Round 1, the power play improved to 37.5 per cent as Chris Kunitz tapped in a rebound in Craig Anderson’s crease, giving the home team a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.

The Penguins held off a decent Senators push in the third and Pascal Dupuis, an old Sens nemesis, salted it with a short-handed goal.

The idea of an early ambush on the prohibitive favourites disappeared quickly when the Penguins threw all their star power at Anderson before he had time to settle in.

The uh-oh factor was rampant in the ranks of Senators Army after Sidney Crosby forced Anderson to make a couple of pad saves on the Penguins first shift of the night. This was just before the Pens grabbed a quick power-play goal when a point shot from Paul Martin deflected in off Jared Cowen, trying to block it.

If there was a ray of hope for the visitors it came in the early bungling at the other goal crease, compliments of Tomas Vokoun, Anderson’s former goaltending partner with the Florida Panthers. Vokoun spit out rebounds like a pez dispenser, often in the vicinity of Senators sticks – was it any wonder the Senators fired pucks at him at every opportunity and outshot Pittsburgh?

At times, Vokoun appeared to be trying to catch the puck with a boxing glove. Of course, it does help to have a team like Pittsburgh in front of him, although the Senators were effective when they had time in the zone.

Vokoun’s greatest artistry came off an innocent shot from the corner by Eric Condra. What should have been a routine catch of the trapper, was wrestled by Vokoun around to his back, where he lost sight of the puck, now sitting on the goal-line. Eagle-eyed Colin Greening saw it, jammed it, and tied the game.

That goal seemed to settle a nervous Ottawa group, and now the game was a fair fight, temporarily. In fact, Vokoun was both good and lucky not to surrender another goal in the period. Anderson did, but was not at fault as Cowen and Eric Gryba messed up around the wrong people (ever notice how the Penguins have a lot of these types?).

James Neal gladly received Cowen’s giveaway while Gryba didn’t know which way to turn as Chris Kunitz fired a pass through the crease that Evgeni Malkin redirected past Anderson. Gryba later left the game after a heavy collision with Pittsburgh’s Brooks Orpik.

Malkin, who is unstoppable when the spirit moves him, has scored a point in every playoff game this season. Back checking is not in his contract, though, so the Senators did have some success in transition against him.

Before the game, Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson said of trying to contain Crosby: “Maybe we should put a (weighted) backpack on him.”

It’s a thought.

On this night, Crosby’s contributions were subtle but legitimate. A prime example: As two Senators penalty killers aggressively attacked him during that late second period power play, Crosby whipped a pass across ice to Kris Letang to launch the sequence leading to the Kunitz goal.

While Crosby didn’t earn a point on the goal – it was Letang to Jarome Iginla, then the rebound to Kunitz – the play would not have happened without player No. 87, as Senators head coach Paul MacLean would say.

Even as they quietly plotted to make a series of it, the Senators were ever-respectful of the Penguins’ status as one of the NHL’s elite teams.

“It’s them and Chicago, they’ve been the two best teams in the whole league this season,” Karlsson said, while acknowledging his own team’s certain je. né Sais quoi.

“Even though we’re not the best team on the ice all the time, we’re still finding ways to win.”

Not this night.

The Pens came into the game 8-2 in their last 10 playoff games against Ottawa. Both Senators victories were in Pittsburgh at the old Igloo.