- on May 13, 2013
Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on before taking a face-off against the New York Islanders in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on May 9, 2013 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH — As the hours tick down towards the start of the second round of the playoffs, the Ottawa Senators are playing the humble game about facing the heavily-favoured Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Senators are quite comfortable colouring themselves as underdogs, a group of no-names matched up against a Penguins lineup loaded with all-stars including Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla, Kris Letang, Brendan Morrow, James Neal and Chris Kunitz.
There are, however, some positives for the Senators to draw upon.
Take for instance, defenceman Marc Methot, who was part of the London Knights crew that shut down Crosby and his Rimouski Oceanic to win the 2005 Memorial Cup.
“I don’t know if he knows who I am,” Methot said following practice at Scotiabank Place Monday morning and before the team boarded its charter for Tuesday’s series opener at Pittsburgh’s CONSOL Energy Center. “He may not know who I am. He has no reason to. The Memorial Cup was such a long time ago and he’s arguably the best player in the world, so I’m sure he’s got a lot more on his mind than the Memorial Cup right now.”
What Crosby and the Penguins should have on their minds right now is the fact the Senators plan to be as physical as possible to slow down the Penguins’ skilled players. The Senators’ confidence comes from grinding down the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the opening round, as well as watching the upstart New York Islanders push the Penguins through a tough six-game series.
Methot says slowing down elite players is much easier said than done.
“People need to know when you’re playing against great players, it’s not always easy to be physical,” he said. “They’re good for a reason. They don’t put themselves in vulnerable positions where they’ll get hit. It’s going to be tough. The biggest thing is to stay tight in our own end and not get running around in our own end where they thrive.”
As for Crosby, Methot talked about his opponent’s intelligence and efficiency, qualities that makes him “really dangerous.”
While it’s paramount that goaltender Craig Anderson must deliver another solid series for the Senators to advance, captain Daniel Alfredsson says it’s also important to force the Penguins to carry the puck from their own end as much as possible. The Islanders were effective in keeping Pittsburgh botted up in its own end for extended periods in the opening round.
“Puck management is going to be important,” he said. “We’ve got to make them come the whole rink as much as possible, working in their end. (Against Montreal), we also did a good job of eliminating second and third chances (against Anderson).”
On Sunday, Senators coach Paul MacLean talked about how the first-round success created a bridge between the team’s veterans, who advanced to the Stanley Cup finals in 2007, and the younger group that captured the 2011 Calder Cup as American Hockey League champions.
Alfredsson echoed those sentiments on Monday.
Alfredsson echoed those sentiments on Monday.
“You grow through an experience like that and we don’t think anything is impossible,” he said. “We think we can give this Pittsburgh team a rough run, but it’s going to take effort from everybody.”
MacLean also says nobody can ever take anything for granted in the playoffs. He has been on the wrong side of upsets before.
“I remember in 2006 (when) I was with the Detroit Red Wings (as an assistant coach), and we had 150 points and we won 50-some games and we were setting records all over the place and winning the President’s Trophy and this little team in Edmonton decided they wanted to play and beat us in six games,” said MacLean. “They were the eighth seed. Last year, the Los Angeles Kings were the eighth seed in the West … proceeded to go into Vancouver and sweep them in four games. So, yeah, lots can happen.”
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