Round 1: Ottawa vs Pittsburgh

[Madferret]

http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20070408/EAST_OTT_PIT_78450.gif

Ottawa Senators
Regular Season Record: 48-25-9, 105 pts
Head-to-Head Record: 1-1-2
Last Stanley Cup Win: -
Last Stanley Cup Final Appearance: -
Last Postseason Appearance: 2006
Players with Stanley Cup Rings: Martin Gerber

Team Analysis: After an awful early season slump that saw fans and the media calling for heads to roll, the Senators pulled everything together to show why they're Stanley Cup contenders. Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and captain Daniel Alfredsson make up the league's deadliest triple threat, powering an offence that ranks among the top three in the league. Their supporting cast aren't slouches either, with Mike Fisher, Peter Schaefer, Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly finishing near the 40-point mark and playing a complete game at both ends of the ice. Even without Zdeno Chara, the defence made big contributions on the scoreboard, with Tom Preissing, Wade Redden, Joe Corvo and Andrej Meszaros each scoring at least 30 points this season. Preissing, along with blueliners Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips, also finished in the Top 10 in the league in plus-minus. The Senators didn't get much mileage out of Martin Gerber this season, and it should come as no surprise the way Ray Emery has been playing. After three seasons of waiting in the wings behind Patrick Lalime and Dominik Hasek, the young netminder finally rooted himself as the team's top option. And heaven forbid, if Emery gets injured or struggles early, the chance is there for Gerber to redeem himself from his flu-ridden performance in last season's playoffs. Any way you cut it, the Senators are on a short leash this spring. They have been distinguished as Cup contenders for the last five years and after this season's early free-fall and recovery, anything but a championship will be unacceptable.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Regular Season Record: 47-24-11, 105 pts
Head-to-Head Record: 3-1
Last Stanley Cup Win: 1992
Last Stanley Cup Final Appearance: 1991
Last Postseason Appearance: 2001
Players with Stanley Cup Rings: Mark Recchi (2), Gary Roberts

Team Analysis: As strange as it may sound, Pittsburgh's window for opportunity to win a Stanley Cup could be very small. If the young trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal keep scoring like veteran All-Stars and leading the Penguins the way they are now, their salary negotiations - which will take place over the next few seasons - could take up a huge chunk of the salary cap and force GM Ray Shero to make some tough choices. And we're talking the about the type of tough choices that Jay Feaster has had to make in Tampa with Lecavalier, Richards and St. Louis. With that in mind, the Pens must win now while their best players are producing at a bargain price. Shero has responded well to the call, acquiring veteran forwards Gary Roberts and Georges Laraque to join a young core that also includes Colby Armstrong, Michel Ouellet and Ryan Malone. Mark Recchi knows all about winning championships, and adds that much more experience to the mix. After an 82-game grind in the regular season, the playoffs are a clean slate. Everyone is ageless, and everyone has a fresh start. On defence, the tandem of Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney has been impressive, combining for 126 points and quarterbacking the fifth-best power play in the Eastern Conference. The rest of the blueline squad consists of stay-at-home guys like Mark Eaton, Brooks Orpik, Alain Nasreddine, Josef Melichar and Rob Scuderi. Their job will be simple enough - make things as comfortable as possible for Marc-Andre Fleury. His numbers won't gather a lot of first-place Vezina votes (at least not now), and he'll also be playing in his first-ever playoff campaign.

[Max Power]

The schedule sucks. First we get back to back games on the weekend then we don’t even get one Fri or Sat game next weekend. The only good news is we’ll get CBC’s brand new HD leaf truck parked full time in Ottawa.

Anyways this is how I see it

Both teams have good depth in offence and both teams have potential game stealing goalies.
For Ottawa the key will obviously be scoring goals but to me the main key is its D. Ottawa depth in D has to be prevalent to win this. Philips and Volchenkov have to keep their dominating play and the second pairing of Mez and Redden have to step up and play better and not make stupid mistakes.
For Pittsburgh they need to make Ottawa take dumb penalties and win this with special teams. If Ottawa defensive game is at its best then it’s the only way they’ll win.

I got rail seats for Saturday afternoon game... Can't wait

[Mel]

I think Ottawa can make easy work of Pittsburgh if they just play a steady game and rely on their playoff experience vs. Pittsburgh's collective lack of it.

Roberts and Recchi are not enough to keep them poised I don't think. This is def. Ottawa's series for the taking.

That said... get it while the getting is good, because I think Pitt is gonna be a perennial powerhouse for years to come that every body fears. For right now though, they are still green enough to be knocked out in the first round.

[Madferret]

Sens' Murray tired of underachiever label
Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - In a playoff series that should feature plenty of offence, Ottawa coach Bryan Murray went on the attack Monday against the critics who dismiss his Senators as chronic underachievers.

As the Senators prepared to meet the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round of the Eastern Conference post-season beginning Wednesday, Murray's first order of business was to address the "choking dog" brush - his words - that he's sick of seeing his team painted with.

"I think it's bull(expletive deleted)," Murray snorted following the team's practice.

While it's the 10th straight season the Senators have qualified for the playoffs, they've advanced beyond the second round just once in their history.

And against a Penguins team that features some of the NHL's brightest young talents, including league scoring champ Sidney Crosby, they're once again dealing with the same old questions over whether they'll be able to translate another strong regular season into playoff success. It's those questions that Murray takes issue with.

"I don't understand the comments at all," continued Murray, who admitted he'd grown frustrated by the discussion. "I don't know how many times Ottawa was supposed to win the Stanley Cup."

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is making its first playoff appearance since 2000-01 and 15 members of the Penguins will make their first post-season debuts when the series opens at Scotiabank Place on Wednesday night.

Rather than silencing the naysayers, the Senators are more concerned with a hungry Pittsburgh team in a matchup that features two of the NHL's highest-scoring teams featuring some of the league's marquee names.

"The only way to silence that (criticism) is to go and have a great playoff, but that's not our motivation here, to silence critics," Phillips said.

Because of the Senators' playoff experience, Crosby conceded Ottawa is the favourite. The Penguins, however, are also trying to use their lack of experience to their advantage.

They don't know any better than to be fearless, he said during a conference call with reporters later Monday.

"You can't make up for the experience unless you've gone through it," he said. "I don't have a sense of being nervous because of that.

"If we don't have the experience, we're going to try and make up for it with our energy and our attitude."

It should make for an entertaining matchup.

After a slow start, Ottawa caught fire and has been among the league's best teams in the second half.

The Senators finished the regular season second in the Northeast Division and fourth in the conference with a 48-25-9 record. Their 288 goals-for ranked second in the NHL, trailing only Buffalo's 308.

The Penguins, meanwhile, were third with 277 goals as they finished runners-up to New Jersey in the Atlantic Division to grab fifth in the conference with a 47-24-11 mark.

Their 105 points were 47 more than they achieved a year earlier.

"The young guys that we have really put the pressure on themselves to learn quickly (and) our veterans - (Mark) Recchi, (Sergei) Gonchar and (Gary) Roberts - have really stepped up and led the way," Crosby said.

Crosby, who finished the season with 120 points to become the NHL's youngest all-time scoring leader, is bound to draw the most attention, on and off the ice, but the Penguins have other high-flying youngsters like Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal to watch.

"There's no doubt they've got some dangerous guys that if you give time and space, they'll take advantage of it," Senators goaltender Ray Emery said.

"Guys like Crosby and Malkin, you've got to key on.

"(Crosby)'s not so much a shooter as a set-up guy. You've got to be aware of guys like that."

The Senators did a relatively good job of containing Crosby during the regular season. Although Pittsburgh won the season series 3-1 - twice earning the victory via shootout - Crosby recorded a goal and three assists in the four games, plus another goal in shootout.

Crosby can expect to see plenty of the Senators' defensive pairing of Phillips and Anton Volchenkov, whom Ottawa re-signed Monday to a three-year contract extension.

"He's a talented player - 120 points in the regular season," Phillips said of Crosby. "We'll have our work cut out for us, but it's a fun challenge.

"It's not just shutting him down when he's got the puck."

More than half of Crosby's points (61) came with the Penguins on the power play, where they ranked fifth in the league.

The Senators, meanwhile, are no slouches up front, either.

Ottawa's top line of Dany Heatley, who this year become the first player to record back-to-back 50-goal seasons since Pavel Bure in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson alone will be out to make life rough for Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who showed strong flashes in the season but is untested in the playoffs.

"Both teams have similar offence where we can score and they're a pretty defensive-minded team, too," Senators centre Mike Fisher said. "It's a tight battle. We've been neck and neck with them all year, so it's going to make for an interesting series."

[Newfie John]

Should be interesting to see how Gary "Sens Killer" Roberts does in this series, especially since Ottawa were trying to nab him at the deadline.

[Max Power]

Should be interesting to see how Gary "Sens Killer" Roberts does in this series, especially since Ottawa were trying to nab him at the deadline.

Ya that story line is one that just wants to burn us. I was one who wanted the deal done for Roberts. Saying that the asking price was ridiculous and it sure sounded like Jack wanted nothing to do with trading him to Ottawa or TO.
Anyways I don’t think Roberts should burn us as they should have the players to deal with him

[The Insider]

This series has the potential of being a high scoring thriller which could very well go the distance with the winner being whoever is able to shut down the big guns of the other team first. Pittsburgh's defence is questionable, but their bread and butter is the PP, so the Sens really need to keep the game 5 on 5 because I think the Sens offence will be able to wear down the Pens defence.

This one could be the series of the playoffs, I think entertainment wise it's between this and the Shark/Pred series.

[Newfie John]

Whichever goaltender does the better job, wins the series.

[Madferret]

Whichever goaltender does the better job, wins the series.

Thanks Bob Cole..

lol

[Madferret]

Murray says Senators the real underdogs
Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - Ottawa Senators coach Bryan Murray must have watched tape from John Tortorella's news conference on the eve of their playoff series exactly a year ago.

The Tampa Bay Lightning head coach had notepads filling up furiously last April before Game 1 against Ottawa when he suggested all the pressure was on the Senators to deliver as top seeds, a psychological salvo meant to get the opposition off its game.

It didn't work.

Murray tried his own version ahead of Wednesday's playoff opener with Pittsburgh, raising 30 pair of eyebrows during his news conference by saying his team was the actual underdog against the upstart Penguins.

''I listen to lots of the observations and many, many people think that Pittsburgh are the team that's going to be beat us without a doubt,'' the veteran Senators coach said without a trace of a smile. ''So I think they've got lots to lose. If they're regarded as the best team, and they don't win, then what happens?''

Seriously though, Ottawa as underdogs?

''I guess we can call ourselves underdogs, it's the closest we've ever been to being underdogs,'' star Ottawa centre Jason Spezza said after practice. ''A lot of people want to see Pittsburgh go on and see all their young talent flourish. We hope can stop that.''

Pittsburgh veteran forward Gary Roberts was surprised to hear of Murray's comments.

''Obviously he must be watching a different channel than I've been watching,'' Roberts said upon the Penguins' arrival here, adding the Senators are the favourites in the minds of most people. ''Whether you're the favourite or not, it's a seven-game series.''

The Senators always have good regular-season success, Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said.

''But one thing, for whatever reason, they get bad luck in the playoffs,'' Therrien said. ''This year I'm sure they feel the pressure to be successful in the playoffs.''

The underdog role is not what the Senators have been accustomed to over the last decade. Instead, they make a habit of walking through the regular season, grabbing one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference, then losing to a lower seed in the first or second round.

Will this year be any different? There is a sense that maybe it will because the Senators faced some serious adversity early in the season, to the point where owner Eugene Melnyk took the unusual step of holding a media conference call to quell rampant speculation that Murray and/or GM John Muckler would be fired any day.

''In November here it wasn't very nice,'' said Murray. ''There was lots of pressure, lots of questions being asked, players were being traded (by fans, media).

''I think our team after that seemed to bond a little better. We had a great second half. To be 25 points behind Buffalo at Christmas time and to finish eight back . . . I thought it was a real good achievement for this team.''

The Senators came out of that adversity a closer-knit unit and perhaps sporting a stronger mental edge after turning around a season headed south.

''There's no other way to go but win or else you concede your season,'' Spezza said, looking back. ''We just found a way to start winning.

''We learned to play a little tighter defensively and I think we became a better team. We learned a lot during that time.''

After starting off 8-11-1 in their first 20 games, the Senators went 40-14-8 over the final 62, as dominant as any team in the NHL. So underdogs they are not against the Penguins, a feeling captain Daniel Alfredsson essentially spelled out when asked how disappointed he'd be losing in the first round to Pittsburgh.

''We feel like we have lots to lose if we don't win this series,'' said Alfredsson. ''At the same time we respect that team, we know their capabilities.

''We have a tough challenge ahead of us. But we would be very disappointed if we don't go past the first round.''

Technically, there is no underdog in this series, both teams tying with 105 points in the standings. But the feeling among most observers is that the seasoned Senators will prevail as Sidney Crosby and his young teammates stomach an important lesson in their first playoff and come back stronger for it. Or so the theory goes.

But while Crosby, Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin are wet behind the ears when it comes to playoff hockey, Roberts and Mark Recchi are not. Their post-season experience could help balance any shortcomings the young Penguin stars have in that regard.

Win or lose, the Senators get to start the playoffs on centre stage in the East with Montreal and Toronto both out. That means top billing on Hockey Night In Canada.

''Toronto always gets the (Hockey Night) games or Montreal is ahead of us, too, so it's great,'' said Ottawa defenceman Wade Redden. ''You want to be on that platform, it's exciting.''

Murray sees the extra spotlight as a chance for some of his players to get the credit they deserve.

''I think it's a great opportunity for a lot of our players, I really do,'' he said. ''I think there have been some of them here with labels, some of them are getting their first chance.

''I really think that's an opportunity for each and every player in the organization to just step up and play the way they can play. . . . I take great pride in the fact that No. 1, we're playing in the playoffs, and No. 2, that we're representing this part of the country.''

[Max Power]

Solid first game by Ottawa. Here are my thoughts and comments
- Officiating was somewhat consistent but ridiculous. Both teams got too many phantom cals
- What the hell was with the disallowed goal? Who cares if it was a kick since when can you just plow into the goalie to score?
- I see Pittsburgh stepping it up next game but at the same time I think the Sens will be ready for it.

[9korona]

The Sens came out hard and took it to the baby Pens. Pens don't really stand too much of a chance as they are too young. Expect Ottawa to take to them again and take this series.

]http://www.evolution.tv/projects/sportsobsession/forum_banners/2007_playoffs_sabres.gif (http://www.soshop.ca/view.php?view=team&catid=1&subgroup=1&subcat=1&divisionid=1&teamid=5)

[Madferret]

Sens dominate Pens to take Game 1
Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - The Ottawa Senators aren't often in the national spotlight, so it might come as a revelation to fans across the country this spring just how good defencemen Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov really are.

"Those two are one of the best shutdown pairs in the league." said star teammate Jason Spezza. "They take a lot of pride in what they do."

Phillips and Volchenkov were assigned to stop Sidney Crosby's top line in a matchup that went Ottawa's way in Wednesday night's 6-3 victory, handing the Senators a 1-0 lead in the first-round, best-of-seven series.

Crosby scored a meaningless goal on the power play with 49 seconds left, but otherwise was largely a non-factor thanks to the terrific work of Phillips and Volchenkov, both of them fresh off signing contract extensions this week. Sid The Kid had only three shots on goal.

"I've played against tough defencemen all year," said Crosby. "They're a good pairing, there's no doubt. You can't take away anything from them, but that's part of playing hockey. And you have to go against challenges like that."

Senators head coach Bryan Murray has come to expect that kind of effort from his top defensive pairing.

"They did a really good job tonight," said Murray. "This is the way they've played all year. They've been solid throughout."

Mike Comrie, Chris Neil, Dany Heatley, Tom Preissing, Chris Kelly and Andrej Meszaros scored and the Senators dominated from start to finish. Ray Emery made 23 saves for the win and captain Daniel Alfredsson, who chipped in with an assist, was a force throughout, much to the delight of 19,611 fans at Scotiabank Place who hope this is finally the year after a decade of playoff disappointments.

"When we started out strong, the crowd really rallied behind us, they've always supported us," said Alfredsson, who led the team with eight shots on goal.

Crosby, Sergei Gonchar and Jordan Staal scored for Pittsburgh, which got bottled up by the Senators and rarely threatened.

"We have a lot more to show," said the 19-year-old Crosby. "And I think for a lot of us it was our first (playoff) game. We aren't going to use that as an excuse, but we did try to feel it a bit too much instead of initiating the playoff ourselves. .. So it's good we've got a couple of days here, we'll regroup."

Game 2 goes Saturday. The plan will stay the same for Ottawa - attack, attack, attack.

"The best way to limit them is to keep the puck and attack," said Murray, whose team outshot Pittsburgh 37-26.

Much has been made of Crosby's first-ever playoff, but it was also Marc-Andre Fleury's first foray into the post-season. And it showed early on with first-period jitters, Fleury looking shaky.

The Senators came out buzzing and pinned the Penguins in their end right off the bat, scoring on the second shift of the game at 1:37 when Meszaros hammered a loose puck past Fleury, who tripped himself and was out of position.

"We were really good early, we weren't nervous," said Murray. "We had a really good start."

Fleury was fighting the puck, but then made a huge pad save at the five-minute mark on Christoph Schubert on a Senators' two-on-one break. He followed that up with a nice glove save off Alfredsson from in-close a few moments later.

But Kelly made it 2-0 at 6:38, slipping a shot between Fleury's legs after Penguins defenceman Rob Scuderi failed the clear the puck.

So one-sided was the opening period that Ottawa's fourth line, for example, of Dean McAmmond between Schubert and Patrick Eaves overpowered Pittsburgh's second line of Evgeni Malkin with Ryan Malone and Mark Recchi, keeping the puck the Penguins zone with a sharp cycle and then drawing a pair of Pittsburgh penalties, handing the Sens a five-on-three power play at 11:09. The Pens did manage to kill it.

The Sens got another two-man advantage late in the period and again weren't able to score. The Sens outshot the Pens 16-4 in the first period and could have been up by four or five goals, just missing on a number of chances.

Ottawa connected with a one-man advantage with 5:22 to go in the second period, Preissing taking a feed from Jason Spezza and rifling a shot top corner on the glove side from the right faceoff dot.

The Penguins finally woke up down 3-0, pressing the Senators really for the first time in the game and it paid off when Staal poked a loose puck under Emery with 3:02 left in the second period, a goal that brought life to the Penguins bench.

But the Sens came out roaring in the final period, Heatley re-directing Alfredsson's shot only nine seconds in to restore Ottawa's three-goal lead at 4-1. It was game over.

Crosby thought he had his first career playoff goal on the very next shift, but a video review ruled it was kicked in and it was disallowed.

Neil made it 5-1 when he scored on a breakaway at 5:39, a goal that came off a Georges Laraque giveaway. Comrie one-timed a nice pass from Peter Schaeffer at 8:22 to make it a laugher at 6-1.

A few shifts later Pens coach Michel Therrien lifted Fleury from the net in favour of Jocelyn Thibault.

Gonchar scored on a two-man advantage at 12:42, while Crosby added a late power-play marker at 19:11 to close out the scoring.

Notes: Joel Kwiatkowski, Chris Thorburn, Ronald Petrovicky, Nils Ekman and Alain Nasreddine were scratches for Pittsburgh, while Lawrence Nycholat, Brian McGrattan and deadline acquisition Oleg Saprykin were left behind by Ottawa .. It's the first playoff series between both clubs although their AHL clubs faced off in the Calder Cup playoffs in 2005 .. The Senators are 4-1 all-time in playoff series against Atlantic Division teams, beating New Jersey in 1998, Philadelphia in 2002 and '03 and the New York Islanders in '03, losing in the conference final to the Devils in '03 .. It was Pittsburgh's first playoff game since 2001.

[Mel]

good start. Of course you don't want to get too high (or too low) after just one game... but I think Ottawa should remain in the driver's seat for this one.

Game 2 is more important as that's usually the game that really sets the tone for the series. If the loser is gonna bounce back, they usually do it in game 2.

Just play smart and don't give them an inch. I also expect more of the same. :thumb:

[Man.Utd]

- What the hell was with the disallowed goal? Who cares if it was a kick since when can you just plow into the goalie to score?

It was also offside. I didn't pick it up on the broadcast myself but there's a picture of Crosby entering the zone before the puck on that play circulating the internet if people need proof.

[9korona]

sens started off right but i think ur all forgeting the sens always choke in the playoffs

[Max Power]

sens started off right but i think ur all forgeting the sens always choke in the playoffs

http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/images/articles/tandem-kayak-fishing.jpg

[Iced Tea]

Great effort by the Sens; Crosby, Fluery and Malkin were crying for their mommies after the first two periods. :D

One thing I don't like about these playoffs is CBC and other networks bringing up the Sens playoff history so much. Enough with the past, let's concentrate on the here and now.

Go Sens Go. :boogie:

[Madferret]

Crosby says series is not all about him
Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - Sidney Crosby may be the NHL's leading scorer but he's also still a teenager.

And he sounded wise beyond his years Thursday when downplaying his role in getting the Pittsburgh Penguins back on track in their first-round playoffs series with the Ottawa Senators.

"It's not me versus the Senators," Crosby said after practice. "It's our team. Maybe sometimes people don't realize that but that's the way it is. And we're not going to get anywhere without our group.

"I'm not going to help my team by trying to do it myself."

The 19-year-old superstar was largely kept in check in Wednesday night's 6-3 loss in Game 1 at Scotiabank Place, scoring a late power-play goal but only getting three shots on net.

"I know he's capable of playing better," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said of Crosby. "He's got a lot of pressure for a 19-year-old, there's no question. But he played pretty decent, he skated and made some nice plays. But like the rest of the team we weren't at our best."

Game 2 goes Saturday afternoon with the Penguins hoping to go home with a split in the opening two games.

Veteran Gary Roberts, Crosby's left winger on the top line, said it was unfair for people to expect the young Crosby to carry the Pens on his shoulders.

"It's not going to happen," said the 40-year-old Roberts. "One guy doesn't carry a team in hockey, it's just not the way it works. You need 20 guys, you need to have a great support cast. And I think we have that here. Sid, obviously he didn't win the scoring title for no reason, he's the best player in the game. But he still needs good people around him to help him and to make him better.

"I know people are putting more pressure on him than needs to be, but it's a team effort."

Marc-Andre Fleury will be back in goal after being pulled late in Game 1, like the rest of Pittsburgh's group of youngster feeling the jitters somewhat in his first-ever playoff game.

"He gave up six goals but I'm glad the first game, his first playoff game in the NHL, is behind him," said Therrien. "It's big for those kids. We're a team that's got a lot of attention all year long, first of all because of Sidney Crosby. Now the playoffs are another level.

"It's OK. We had a bad day. Now come on and let's go."

The Senators expect a different Penguins team.

"They're going to come out hard, no question about it," said Ottawa defenceman Chris Phillips. "They had a lot of guys who it was their first playoff game yesterday. Maybe they were caught up in more stuff off the ice and you expect that to settle down a little bit."

Veteran Pittsburgh defenceman Sergei Gonchar said the nervous reaction from his younger teammates was to be expected.

"It's normal. If you experience something new in your life, it doesn't matter what it is, you'll be nervous about it," said Gonchar. "But this is behind us now. The guys have learned from that."

The Senators, meanwhile, hope to achieve something they have never done in their modern history, take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series. In other words, show that killer instinct.

"It's something we definitely have to do," said Phillips. "Road teams come in and look for a split and that can still be achieved. Last night means nothing without a big effort and a big win Saturday. ..

"We definitely want to go right after them and come out with the same effort, the same intensity and take the play to them."

The Penguins are already tired of hearing that maybe this isn't their year, that their young core must take their lumps in their first playoff experience and come back stronger for it next year.

"I'm sure it's easy to say. Some teams in the past have had to lose in order to be successful," said Crosby. "But you look at Edmonton last year, go all the way to the Cup final, I mean, who would have thought that? You can learn just as quickly winning as you can losing, I think.

"By no means is that our mindset, that we're just here to play it out. We're the underdogs, yes, everyone knows that, but we'd be cheating ourselves if we did that. We have a lot more pride."

Roberts rolled his eyes at the much bandied-about theory.

"If we were thinking that way we might as well just pack our bags and go home now," Roberts said. "We really believe we have a chance to win this series. And we know we have to be better than we were last night."

The Penguins, after all, racked up the same 105 points in the regular season as Ottawa.

"This is a team that's bounced back throughout the course of the season," Therrien said. "You have to give those kids credit, because they're in the playoffs. It's pretty simple, we have to prove that we're capable of bouncing back in the playoffs."

[Madferret]

Penguins hint at humiliation
Sportsnet.ca

OTTAWA -- Was humiliation on the minds of the Ottawa Senators when the scoreboard turned lopsided in Game 1? The Pittsburgh Penguins say yes.

"Yes, but at the same time, it's normal for the playoffs," Sergei Gonchar said after the opening loss. "They didn't surprise me with that. Obviously, we don't appreciate it, but the best thing to do against that is put yourself in a position where you're winning."

Gonchar was just one of several targets the Senators ran, and re-ran, during the third period Wednesday. However, some of the Penguins are not ready to chalk it up to 'just' playoff hockey.

"A couple of their guys got carried away towards the end," Orpik said. "I mean, a couple of those guys ... they know no one's going to jump them because of the instigator penalty. A couple of them, like (Christoph) Schubert, he just runs around, leaves his feet.

"If they want to run guys like me and (Rob Scuderi) and Georges, guys who play physical, fine. But they're taking shots at (Evgeni) Malkin and Gonchar. If they're doing it in a clean way, hey, that's part of the game. But when guys are leaving their feet going after guys' heads, I think that's when guys have problems with it."

True or not, if the Penguins felt humiliation was the last period mandate, then the question must be asked as to the whereabouts of Georges Laraque. The ex-Oilers enforcer was brought in at the deadline to resolve issues over teams taking on-ice liberties, but in Game 1 he played five minutes with little effect.

A local Pittsburgh reporter approached Michel Therrien about Laraque, and got a dose of ambiguity in return.

Reporter: "As physical as it was, would you have liked to see Laraque be more of a physical presence - or a presence - in that game?"

Therrien: "No doubt."

Reporter: "Why wasn't he?"

Therrien: "Ask him."

When asked, Laraque explained why he didn't initiate some sort of disturbance.

"It's not like the regular season, where you can afford to take a penalty, or guys will (fight) with you," he said. "That's why there's no fighting. The only way to respond is by being physical against their players, too. But for that to happen, we have to be playing more 5-on-5."

But in a 6-3 game, how much would taking an instigator penalty hurt the team? Regardless, the Penguins will have a little more to play for in Game 2 Friday night.

"It's something we can definitely carry over to the next game," Orpik said.

(Quotes courtesy of Joe Starkey, Pittsburgh-Tribune-Review)

[Max Power]

Cry me a river
So the Sens should keep it a 1 goal game so it doesn't upset anybody?
Same with the checking... Sorry but you don't slow down if you want to win period

[Man.Utd]

If they're not prepared for low-ball tactics and teams keeping their foot on the gas then they're not prepared for playoff hockey. Should we limit the gap so they still have a chance at it, no matter how distant? The Penguins are among the best out there at making seemingly hopeless games into sudden victories. And don't make me laugh about players getting run all night. This is playoff hockey. If you go strictly by the book, letter by letter, Toronto and Gary Roberts cheated their way to many series wins against us. But in the post-season the whistles are put away (with our poorly officiated contest being the exception ironically). Now the shoe is on the other foot.... only we're definatly a better team than Pittsburgh on paper regardless.

[Madferret]

lol
I love the chirping...it's a mental game as much as it a hockey series..

[grim]

lol
I love the chirping...it's a mental game as much as it a hockey series..

Yeah ferret. Listening to the Pittsburgh=Boys against Ottawa=men descriptions, its like the whole north american sports broadcasting establishment fell off the Crosby bandwagon in one big whimper. And I didn't know you could have your goal disallowed for performing the dreaded kicking motion... with your ass... but its true. Gives a whole new angle to the term... a real ass kicking.

[Madferret]

Pens try to bounce back against Sens
The Sports Network

(Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to even things with the Ottawa Senators this afternoon, when the teams meet at Scotiabank Place for Game 2 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

Ottawa earned an easy victory and pulled ahead 1-0 in the series on Wednesday. Chris Neil had a breakaway goal and added an assist as the Senators cruised past the Penguins, 6-3, in Ottawa.

Joe Corvo added two assists in his first postseason affair while Peter Schaefer and Anton Volchenkov also finished with two helpers apiece for fourth-seeded Ottawa. Ray Emery came away with 23 saves in a winning effort.

With the win, the Senators were also able to spoil the postseason debut of Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh's 19-year-old phenom and this year's Art Ross Trophy winner as the league's leading scorer.

Crosby, who is the youngest player ever to earn an NHL scoring title, did register a goal in his first playoff tilt and had another waved off for the Penguins.

Sergei Gonchar and 18-year-old Jordan Staal lit the lamp as well for Pittsburgh, which was playing in its first playoff contest since 2001. Marc- Andre Fleury turned away 30 shots in defeat.

The Penguins scored two power-play goals in the game, but those tallies came on a whopping 10 opportunities with the man advantage. Ottawa was 2-for-6 on the power play.

Pittsburgh hasn't won a postseason contest since May 15, 2001, when the club defeated New Jersey in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Penguins lost that series to the Devils in five games.

On the other hand, the Senators are 0-6 all-time in contests following a Game 1 victory.

The Pens held the upper hand in the season series with the Senators this year, winning three of the four matchups, and two of Pittsburgh's victories came in shootouts. The Penguins also won both meetings at Scotiabank Place.

This set marks the first time the Penguins and Senators are facing each other in the postseason.

Pittsburgh was 21-14-6 as the road team during the regular season, while the Senators were 25-13-3 on their home ice.

[Madferret]

Emery is the man, finally
April 13, 2007
Sportsnet.ca

OTTAWA (CP) -- Ray Emery isn't looking over his shoulder this spring.

There's no injured Dominik Hasek hanging around the Ottawa Senators dressing room. And this year, Emery is the man, not the green backup goalie filling in until Hasek returns.

That, of course, never happened last year, Hasek unable to recuperate from a groin problem sustained at the Olympics.

"That was the unsettling part for the team, was that we kept thinking that Dominik was going to come back and play," Senators head coach Bryan Murray said Friday after practice. "There was certainly an indication almost on a daily basis that that was going to be the case. I think it affects the room a great deal."

Emery will be in net again Saturday (3 p.m. ET) as the Senators look to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

A year ago Emery was asked almost on a daily basis whether he felt up to the task of playoff hockey. No one's bothering him with that question this time around. Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury is the playoff neophyte, not Emery.

"I felt confident last year, but maybe I was a little green," the 24-year-old Emery said. "Now I'm ready for that, hopefully that experience helps and puts me over the edge this year."

To Emery's credit, he handled an awkward and bizarre situation with Hasek last spring with class and composure, refusing to ever point to that as an excuse or a distraction.

At the time, the Senators said all the right things but the Hasek situation wasn't ideal.

"There was a lot of weird things going on, if you want to put it that way," said Senators defenceman Chris Phillips.

Murray believes Emery wasn't too fazed by it all.

"I don't know how much it affected Ray as an individual," said Murray. "He's a strong guy and he probably handled it better than I did. Because we kept hoping and thinking that if we could just get this guy (Hasek) back, it would get us over the hump that we need to get over.

"After Game 1 against Buffalo (7-6 OT loss) in particular, you're kind of like, `How are we going to survive if we don't get our No. 1 guy back?'

"And Ray I thought handled it quite well. But in the room, I'm sure it had an effect. And that was really the only reason I made the comment that I did at the end of the year, `Let's move on.' Simply because I felt that we had to give this team a chance to clean the slate and do what they had to do."

The Senators cut their ties with Hasek, which freed him up to eventually sign in Detroit, and while the Red Wings have thrived with a rejuvenated and healthy 42-year-old Hasek in net, Ottawa hasn't looked back, either.

Emery went 33-16-6 this season with a 2.47 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.

His teammates see a more confident Emery.

"Yeah, I think so," said Phillips. "With that experience last year of playing in the playoffs and this year just getting more minutes in the regular season as well, being put in more situations can't do anything but help a goalie and he's proven that to us.".

Not that he was handed the No. 1 job.

The Senators made him earn it by bringing in veteran Martin Gerber from Carolina via free agency last summer. Instead of sulking, Emery used it as motivation.

"To become a starting goalie you have to supplant someone or earn that spot, you're not getting it by default -- which was the case when Dom went down last year," said Emery. "When they signed Marty I was looking forward to playing with him but wanted to earn my playing time. And I felt I did that this year."

Gerber had the inside edge on the job coming out of training camp but quickly lost it after a miserable start.

"He took it as a challenge," Murray said of Emery. "He felt after going through a big crisis last year that he could handle it. And fortunately for him, Martin and the team wasn't very good early in the year and he got a chance to get thrown in and responded.

"That's all we ask for in life is opportunity and he grabbed it and ran with it."

Penguins head coach Michel Therrien, meanwhile, may have been trying to get to Emery when on Thursday he suggested both starting goalies in Game 1 looked nervous.

"I wasn't nervous. I don't know if I looked nervous," Emery said Friday.

Was Therrien trying to get under his skin?

"I don't know. But we won (Game 1) so it really doesn't matter," Emery said.

Murray brushed off Therrien's attempt at gamesmanship.

"Ray didn't look nervous to me," said Murray. "He's never nervous. If I yell at him for doing something he's not even nervous then. He just comes to play and that's the good thing about him, I believe he's got real strong character, a guy that handles pressure and situations pretty well."

Just as importantly, this year he's got the full confidence of his teammates.

"Earlier in the year when he had a chance he stepped right in and knew how to handle it," said 50-goal man Dany Heatley. "He played great for us last year but he was kind of just thrown in there unexpectedly. This year he knew what to expect, he worked hard all summer, and he's been great this season."

http://www.sportsnet.ca/images/nhl/ott/emery_save_roberts_hor.jpg

[Madferret]

Pens and Sens take series to Pittsburgh
Sports Network

(Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will host a playoff game for the first time in nearly six years when they welcome the Ottawa Senators to Mellon Arena for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

The Penguins, who are in the postseason for the first time since reaching the conference finals in 2001, evened this best-of-seven set on Saturday afternoon with a 4-3 victory in Ottawa.

Sidney Crosby scored the go-ahead goal with 8:16 remaining in the third period to help the Pens earn the Game 2 win at Scotiabank Place and tie the series at one game apiece.

With the contest locked at 3-3, Pittsburgh took the lead for good when Mark Recchi found Crosby just to the right of the Senators net. Recchi picked up the puck along the left wing boards and made a nice pass to the Pens' superstar, who re-directed the disc past Ottawa goaltender Ray Emery.

The Senators pulled Emery in favor of the extra attacker in the last minute of play and put on heavy pressure around the Pittsburgh net, with Marc-Andre Fleury stopping Ottawa's Mike Fisher from point blank range with 13.1 seconds remaining.

Crosby also added an assist in the game. Gary Roberts chipped in with a goal and an assist and the Pens also received tallies from Ryan Whitney and Jordan Staal.

Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators and Chris Kelly also lit the lamp in defeat.

Fleury was brilliant in net, stopping 34-of-37 shots, including a 12-of-13 in the third period.

Emery made 17 saves for the Senators.

The Senators not only lost the game, but suffered a mild blow to their scoring depth when Christoph Schubert left the game midway through the first period with a strained neck. Schubert notched 25 points (8 goals, 17 assists) and was a plus-30 for Ottawa this season. He is doubtful for today's contest.

Pittsburgh, which had its last home playoff game in a loss to New Jersey on May 19, 2001, was 26-10-5 at Mellon Arena during the regular season. The Penguins were actually shut out in their last two postseason games at home.

The Senators were a solid 23-12-6 as the visiting team this year.

Game 4 of this series is set for Tuesday evening in Pittsburgh.

[Madferret]

Sens double up on Pens in rowdy affair
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) - One day after allowing a victory to slip away on their home ice, the Ottawa Senators knew doing so again in Pittsburgh might cost them the series. It didn't happen.

Daniel Alfredsson scored twice during a second dominating Ottawa second period in as many days. The Senators made this lead stand, taking Pittsburgh's stars and its crowd out of the game for a 4-2 victory Sunday in Game 3 of their first-round series.

The Senators seized back home-ice advantage by mostly controlling Pittsburgh's stars and getting two key goals from one of their own in Alfredsson.

Ottawa, rebounding from a 4-3 loss at home barely 24 hours before in which it twice squandered third-period leads, takes a 2-1 lead into Game 4 on Tuesday night. Game 5 follows in Ottawa on Thursday.

The Senators have been in control for all but 1½ periods of the series, winning 6-3 in Game 1. Only this time - unlike Saturday, when the Penguins came back with three goals in the third period - they have the victory and the series lead to prove it.

http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20070415/alfredsson_75405.jpg

[Madferret]

Pan to Crosby moaning at the refs...

[Max Power]

Pan to Crosby moaning at the refs...

It's really amazing how much he complains. Every whistle on Saturday he was yapping. Any time he was touched around the net he's yapping. The good old habit came quickly back to Roberts too as he's been constantly chirping. I can't believe even Cherry called him out.

On a separate not I hope the fans don’t boo the Canadian national anthem tomorrow because I don’t want this to turn into anything bigger. I’d hate to see Ottawa fans get into it

[KB in Kelowna]

It's really amazing how much he complains. Every whistle on Saturday he was yapping. Any time he was touched around the net he's yapping. The good old habit came quickly back to Roberts too as he's been constantly chirping. I can't believe even Cherry called him out.

On a separate not I hope the fans don’t boo the Canadian national anthem tomorrow because I don’t want this to turn into anything bigger. I’d hate to see Ottawa fans get into it
A young Wayne Gretzky had a reputation for whining in the early 80's, eventually he'll pipe down.

[Madferret]

A young Wayne Gretzky had a reputation for whining in the early 80's, eventually he'll pipe down.

You gotta wonder if he knows that Bettman / Campbell wouldn't dare suspend him or tell the refs to keep him in check either. He literally is bitching at every whistle about something or another. And since when did Pittsburgh develop the Buffalo 'how dare you hit us' Sabres complex...

[Madferret]

Senators not thinking about past failures
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) - With so many post-season failures behind them, so many disappointing swings in momentum and breakdowns in confidence, the Ottawa Senators understand they should never feel comfortable with any Stanley Cup playoffs series lead.

The bad memories are too recent and their flops too frequent for them to disregard their past - even as they take a 2-1 lead into Game 4 of their first-round series against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

The Senators understand those past defeats will never go away. What Ottawa coach Bryan Murray seems determined to instill in them is that nothing that occurred during nine consecutive failed Stanley Cup runs from 1998 to 2006 has anything to do with this team.

"I know there's a lot of comments about the history, but this is a very different hockey team than I had last year," Murray said Monday. "We play different, we handle things better.
"The history lesson has been learned, I hope and think, and we're just going to be calm and play."

During their 4-2 victory Sunday night, the Senators shook off a Pittsburgh goal in the opening minute and whatever jump the Penguins might have gained from their come-from-behind 4-3 decision in Ottawa on Saturday to dominate the final two periods.

"It's a different year, a new start - no matter how good you've been in the past or how bad you've been, it doesn't really matter," said Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson, who scored twice Sunday. "You've got to prove yourself again."

Or in the Penguins' case, prove themselves for the first time. Only three Penguins players have more than a smattering of playoff experience, and coach Michel Therrien is wondering aloud if his team understands what it takes to win in the postseason.

While key Senators such as Alfredsson and Jason Spezza can be seen delivering hits or making plays at either end of the ice, some Penguins have not elevated their games to a similar two-way level.

"I think we're playing at a different level than during the year - I hope we are, I think we are," Murray said.

Penguins star Sidney Crosby has noticed.

"You see that in the playoffs - the skilled players have to be a little more grittier and find ways to create chances, and a lot of times that comes from taking a hit or giving a hit," Crosby said.

Ottawa was second in the league with 286 goals during the regular season, yet owns the series lead mostly because it has kept Pittsburgh's stars from taking over games. Crosby has three goals, but two came in games already decided. Evgeni Malkin, Mark Recchi and Colby Armstrong, among others, have yet to score.

"We've got some guys who so far have been disappointments," Therrien said.

Among them is Malkin, the front-runner for the rookie-of-the-year award. He has four assists in three games but has taken only four shots, all in Game 3.

While Malkin looked better skating Sunday than in the previous two games, he has seemed surprised by how much better the defensive play becomes during the postseason. There also might be a fatigue factor considering he has played about 30 more games than he would have for his former Russian pro team.

"He's got to be better," Therrien said.

Playing better in the second period would help. The Penguins have been outscored 6-1 in a period that proved pivotal in Games 1 and 3. Ottawa scored three times in the second period Sunday.

"Our team played from behind quite a bit at the end of the year," Gary Roberts said. "Maybe we didn't know what to do with a lead.

"We definitely let ourselves down in the second period and they took it to us."

As a result, the message sent to the Penguins players Monday was evident: Play 60 minutes, not 20 or 40. Stop making bad mistakes, such as Malkin's giveaway that led to a goal Sunday. Don't take useless penalties. Get more shots - the Senators have a 99-66 edge so far.

"There's been a lack of discipline and a loss of focus at times," Roberts said.

A lack of experience, too, though, as Crosby said, nothing until now will have mattered if the Penguins can win Game 4 and even the series. Then, the series will be exactly as it was going into Game 1: all even, with the Penguins needing to win at least once in Ottawa to move on to the second round.

"We've got to be sure we get one (victory) here," Crosby said.

[Madferret]

Senators' Eaves to miss Game Four
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Ottawa Senators forward Patrick Eaves, knocked out by a hard hit from Colby Armstrong of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, will miss Game 4 of the teams' first-round playoff series Tuesday night.

While Eaves was not in hospital and could be seen congratulating teammates following their 4-2 victory in Game 3, he will be replaced for at least one game by Oleg Saprykin.

''He's a lot better today,'' Senators coach Bryan Murray said Monday. ''He needs a little time, of course.

''A little headache, but beyond that, he's OK.''

While the Senators haven't said if Eaves has a concussion, a brain injury caused by force that results in a loss of consciousness is by definition a concussion.

Armstrong wasn't penalized for delivering a hit to Eaves' head with his shoulder as Eaves carried the puck from behind the Penguins' net during the second period.

''I just try to play the game hard and finish my checks,'' Armstrong said. ''It was a play where he came around the net and I just tried to meet (him) at the post and make a hit.

''Hopefully, he's all right. I have to play hard and play in their face. But I didn't mean to pinpoint on his head, I tried to hit the guy.''

The play, along with several others during the season, has added fuel to the debate whether any blow to the head should be penalized.

Eaves became the second player to miss playing time with a head injury after being levelled by Armstrong this season. Carolina forward Trevor Letowski missed nine games with a concussion after Armstrong knocked him out with a blindside hit in Pittsburgh on Oct. 14.

Neither Eaves nor Letowski saw Armstrong coming until being hit. Letowski had just made a pass and was skating with his head turned.

While Ottawa forward Jason Spezza said the six-foot-two, 190-pound Armstrong's hit on the six-foot, 192-pound Eaves was dirty, Ottawa coach Bryan Murray called it ''a hockey hit.''

Murray scouts and prefers to sign players like Armstrong who aren't hesitant to throw their bodies around, even against bigger players. The Senators' willingness to do exactly that has made for a more physical series than expected between two of the NHL's top four scoring teams.

''Guys don't try to bury people in that fashion, you try to knock people down,'' Murray said. ''I don't think Colby Armstrong tried to hit Patty Eaves and knock him out in the game.

''He wanted to get a big hit on him. But I do think something has to be done about guys who get hit in the head, whether it's our guy getting hit in the head or otherwise.''

Penguins star Sidney Crosby's answer is to penalize all hits to the head.

''I don't think you can paint every hit with the same brush,'' Crosby said. ''The guys leaving their feet, that's the biggest one.

''When a guy leaves his feet, he's definitely going for the guy's head. But when a guy's bent over, facing you with his head, there's nothing else you can hit.''

[Madferret]

Senators take commanding lead on Pens
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Sidney Crosby warned that no one should be surprised if the least-likely players made the biggest plays in what was expected to be a high-scoring Ottawa-Pittsburgh playoff series.

Anton Volchenkov proved that in what may turn out to be a pivotal game.

Volchenkov scored midway through the third period as the Ottawa Senators moved to within one victory of eliminating the Penguins with a 2-1 victory Tuesday night.

The Senators proved they could win a one-goal game when it counts - they lost 22-of-32 such games during the regular season, despite being second in goal scoring. They weathered a dominating second by Pittsburgh, a reversal of the first three games, and remained patient and persistent until getting the winner.

Ottawa takes a 3-1 lead into Game 5 on Thursday night, where the teams split the first two games in the Eastern Conference first-round series.

''Going back home, we want to bury them,'' Ottawa's Jason Spezza said. ''We don't want to come back here and give them life.

''When you get a team on the ropes, you want to try to knock them out.''

The go-ahead goal by Volchenkov came amid an ever-shifting flow in which one team would press for a goal and the other would answer, creating an up-and-down and entertaining game despite the relative lack of scoring.

Mike Comrie took the puck out from behind the net toward the left corner and threw a hard pass to the slot, and Volchenkov blasted a 30-foot shot over goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's left shoulder. Fleury had dropped to his knees early on the play in anticipation of the pass going toward the crease.

''I don't score much but I scored a very big goal,'' said Volchenkov, who said his only bigger goal was in the world juniors for Russia against Canada. ''It was a great, great play, a pass for me . . . and not too much traffic.

''I might be a little bit lucky.''

Volchenkov, a defenceman, scored only once in 78 games during the season and had only one previous playoff goal, four years and a day before scoring his second. He has only nine goals in 229 career regular-season games.

''It was, basically, next goal wins and they got it,'' said Crosby, the NHL scoring champion who was held without a goal for the first time in the series. ''But every guy in that room can look in the mirror and know he gave an honest effort.

''We showed ourselves, and them, we're a difficult team to play against. If we take that to Ottawa, we have a chance.''

Pittsburgh, appearing in the playoffs for the first time since 2001, has dropped the fourth game of its last eight playoff series. This time, it was because the Senators quieted Crosby and rookie Evgeni Malkin, who has yet to score despite having 85 points during the season. The Penguins also were 0-for-5 on the power play while Ottawa was 1-for-3 with the man advantage.

''We're playing the smartest hockey we've played in a long time,'' Spezza said of a Senators team known for its past playoff failures - nine successive trips to the playoffs without reaching the final. ''We don't care if they're pretty or if they're ugly.''

Ottawa won both games in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins have lost 10 of their last 13 playoff games - though none of these players were responsible for those other losses. Pittsburgh has come back from 3-1 deficits before, most recently in 1995 against Washington, but the Senators are 3-0 after they go up 3-1.

''You've got to win the next game, that's the way you look at it. You can't win three (games) in one (night),'' Crosby said. ''You win the next one.''

Ottawa's Ray Emery stopped 23 shots Tuesday and limited them to three goals in the two games in Pittsburgh.

''He was the difference tonight,'' Penguins coach Michel Therrien said.

The Senators got off to a fast start, as they have done throughout the series, and took a 1-0 lead with about 3½ minutes gone when Spezza's intended pass toward the net deflected off Penguins rookie Jordan Staal's stick and into the net. There has been a goal scored in the opening four minutes of every game.

Ottawa kept pressing for a 2-0 lead for the rest of the period but couldn't get it, then saw the momentum shift.

''It wasn't a defensive game,'' the Senators' Chris Phillips said. ''Both goalies made tremendous saves.''

The Penguins were outscored 6-1 in the second in the first three games, but was in control throughout this time and got the tying goal about eight minutes in - with Staal scoring this time for his own team.

Michel Ouellet pushed the puck from behind the net toward 40-year-old Gary Roberts, but the 18-year-old Staal got his stick on it and put it past Emery for his third goal of the series. Staal is one of the five youngest players in NHL history to score a Stanley Cup playoff goal.

Notes: The Penguins outshot Ottawa 13-6 in the second period, a reversal of Ottawa's 44-18 advantage in the first three games, but were outshot 26-24 overall. . The Penguins benched F Erik Christensen, who had 18 goals during the season, for Nils Ekman, who had played only once since March 6. . Ouellet took a key hooking penalty with about 6½ minutes left and the Penguins trying to get the tying goal.

http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20070417/Ottawa_77851.jpg

[Max Power]

How about Comrie... Man this guy has come to play. I questioned him before the playoffs but not anymore. He's certainly been one of our best players this series.
I won't mention Redden as I'll start to choke.

How many get out of jail for free cards does Roberts have? Bad officiating is part of the game but sooner we don't have to see this guy run free of charge the happier I'll be

[9korona]

Ya Comrie has come to play every game since coming over to Ottawa. He's been a big help getting them to the playoffs and will continue to be a huge factor for them going through these playoffs.

[Madferret]

Emery won us that game last night. While Ray had never really lost us a playoff game last year due to his play, he never won us won either....Emery's performance last night was HUGE.

[Madferret]

Emery physically and mentally tough
Darren Dreger
TSN.ca

Ray Emery is not just physically tough but he's mentally tough.

There were so many question marks about the goaltending of Martin Gerber at the start of the season. Emery absolutely stole the starting job and has not relinquished the position, and has not disappointed in the opening round of the playoffs.

You look at the offence in Tuesday night's win against the Penguins. Jason Spezza and Anton Volchenkov both scored and then Emery shut the door.

Emery does it because of the confidence he has in the guys up front. The Senators have a big, mobile defence with Emery there to shut the door.

[Max Power]

Emery won us that game last night. While Ray had never really lost us a playoff game last year due to his play, he never won us won either....Emery's performance last night was HUGE.

Agreed, I forgot to mention him.
Although the weird thing is with all the pressure the Pens had last night their shot count was low and even lower then Ottawa.

[Man.Utd]

Emery was fantastic as Ferret covered. My fellow German Schubert also really impressed me on the PK with Phillips/Volchenkov taking all the penalties. The Pens can ice some big guns to be sure. I love his game and physical tools - he'll be a future warrior for us if he isn't already.

Like Max said, Comrie was outstanding last night and has been solid all post-season. He's bringing a physical element to the ice and finally gives us that depth down the middle.

I really hope we trade Redden for whatever we can get - I'm sure he has some decent value even after this poor campaign - and use the cap space to re-sign Comrie and Preissing. That guy just keeps proving me right. I don't like it.

It'll be interesting to see if management opts to try and keep Saprykin aswell. I've been very pleased with his limited amount of performances but is there a space for him and will he even want to stay?

[macca]

I find the following hilarious:

Total salaries NHL teams wasted on fomer Senator prima donnas in 2006/2007:

Zdeno Chara = 7.5 million dollars = zero playoff points
Martin Havlat = 6 million dollars = zero playoff points
Marion "Jerome Iginla" Hossa = 6 million dollars = 1 useless playoff point.


What is the total you ask?

19.5 million dollars for one (1) useless playoff point.........What bargains??

GO SENS!!

[9korona]

sens are taking it that's it. lol

[Madferret]

Senators look to eliminate Crosby, Pens
The Sports Network

(Sports Network) - The Ottawa Senators will try to close out their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight, when they host Game 5 of the best-of-seven set at Scotiabank Place.

The teams split the first two tilts of the set in Ottawa, but the fourth- seeded Sens then grabbed hold of the series by winning back-to-back tests in Pittsburgh to take a three games to one edge.

The Senators opened the two-game lead in the series with Tuesday's 2-1 triumph at Mellon Arena. Ray Emery made 23 saves and Anton Volchenkov scored the game- winner midway through the third period to lift Ottawa to the Game 4 victory.

Jason Spezza added a power-play goal and Joe Corvo notched an assist for Ottawa, which is facing the Penguins for the first time ever in the playoffs.

Volchenkov, Spezza and Joe Corvo are tied for second on the team with four points each in this series. Daniel Alfredsson was held without a point on Tuesday, but still leads his club with five points in the four contests.

Emery has been solid in goal so far, stopping 80-of-90 shots in the series.

The Senators are 4-0 all-time in series where they hold a three games to one advantage.

Meanwhile, the fifth-seeded Penguins once again failed to take advantage of home-ice advantage as well as power-play opportunities. After going 2- for-13 on the power play in the first two tests in Ottawa, Pittsburgh was just 0-for-9 on the man advantage in the last two games on home ice.

Jordan Staal tallied the lone goal on Tuesday for the Penguins, who are in the postseason for the first time since 2001. Pittsburgh hasn't been knocked out in the opening round since losing in six games to Montreal in the 1998 playoffs.

As for the 18-year-old Staal, he has acquitted himself nicely in his first- ever playoff series, tying fellow phenom Sidney Crosby for the team lead with three goals.

Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 24 saves in Game 4, dropped to 1-3 in the set. The 22-year-old goaltender has a lofty 3.96 goals against average and sub-par .879 save percentage in the four tilts.

If the Senators fail to close out this series tonight, the teams will return to Pittsburgh for Game 5 on Sunday.

[Mel]

For selfish reasons, I'd like the Pens to win because that would mean one less powerful team in the Rangers way with Ottawa gone....

But, I am so sick of Crosby being the main focal point and media darling of the entire NHL playoffs.

Please get rid of him / them already!

[Madferret]

Sens not backing down from physical play
Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - Gary Roberts terrorized the Ottawa Senators in playoffs past as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And the 40-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins winger has once again taken his pound of flesh from the Senators in this year's first-round series.

This time, however, Ottawa hasn't blinked.

''We're really not intimidated,'' said rugged Senators winger Chris Neil.

Neil has never been intimidated in his life but what's refreshing this spring is that neither are his teammates.

The Penguins, led by Roberts, have played the body hard in this series but the Senators have punched back.

''We haven't backed down,'' said Ottawa centre Mike Fisher. ''I think we're definitely more resilient. We've been rising to the challenge and competitiveness of the playoffs. It has been a really physical series and different guys are stepping up.

''(Mike) Comrie is playing physical, every guy is chipping in with hits _ and that's what you need, team toughness,'' added Fisher. ''I think that's what we've shown more now than we ever have.''

The Senators have long had the talent, their 10th straight trip to the post-season the proof of that, but people have questioned their toughness and their heart.

''We have a totally different team in here from years past,'' said Neil. ''I think we only have four of five guys that have been here through all those Toronto series. I think we matured as a team. We brought in some new guys, some new blood.

''You look at a guy like Joe Corvo, he's been unbelievable and he's never even played in a playoff series before. .. Tom Preissing, Mike Comrie, guys playing great and stepping up.''

The diminutive Comrie, all 5-10 and 185 pounds of him, fought Colby Armstrong in Game 2 after the 6-2, 188-pound Penguins winger violently crashed into Senators goalie Ray Emery earlier in the game.

Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson sent Roberts flying with a big hit in Game 3 while fourth-line winger Christoph Schubert has hit every Penguin in sight.

''We've done a fair amount of contacting ourselves and I like that,'' said Senators head coach Bryan Murray. ''You respect people that compete real hard. We have played well.''

Heading into Thursday night's Game 5, the Senators held a 3-1 lead in the series.

Emery likes what he's seen. His team has responded in a physical series.

''We were watching games from the other series and noticed that there weren't any hits in some of those games,'' said Emery. ''Our games, it seems like guys are flying all over the place and banging and crashing _ on both sides. ..

''That's a testament to how much these guys want to win and what they're willing to sacrifice to help the team.''

No. 1 centre Jason Spezza said his team has had to fight for every inch of ice in this series.

''We're playing a pretty physical series. It's not an easy series out there,'' said Spezza, who has been hit hard by the Penguins. ''But we haven't panicked and we're playing for each other.''

Alfredsson, who has been here for every single playoff game over the last decade, says the difference this season is that his team is not bent in trying to show people how tough they are.

They're just doing what's needed.

''Maybe in the past people thought we weren't tough enough so we had to go out and show everyone we were tough,'' said Alfredsson. ''I don't think we feel that way now, we feel that if we have a chance to finish checks we will and we have a lot of guys that do that really well.''

[Max Power]

For selfish reasons, I'd like the Pens to win because that would mean one less powerful team in the Rangers way with Ottawa gone....

But, I am so sick of Crosby being the main focal point and media darling of the entire NHL playoffs.

Please get rid of him / them already!

Funny for selfish reasons I hope Tampa beats NJ so we can face NY =]
Buffalo or Ottawa one or the other it will be a tough road for you guys. For Ottawa I like the NYR match up but it will still be a tough series

[9korona]

does anyone share my opinion that the senators always choke in the playoffs

[Max Power]

does anyone share my opinion that the senators always choke in the playoffs

I've never heard that before
On a separate note how many times has Buffalo won the cup?

[charlio lemieux]

does anyone share my opinion that the senators always choke in the playoffs


Only most of the continent.

But this year they are only basically the 2nd favorite from the East with about 3-4 West teams ahead of them favored for the cup, so even a second round loss shouldn't really be considered "choking". I wouldn't be surprised to see the Rags bounce them. With Avery and a healthy Shanahan, Jagr-line and Lundqvist I have the Rags as my 3rd favorite in the East.

It isn't like Ottawa is coming into the post season as stacked as they used to be. They still have the best line in hockey a good group of solid players behind it, so it isn't like they are hurting. They have a good shot at making it out of the East this year. If the West is as big of a dog fight as it should be this could be the Sens year.

[Madferret]

..and every Leaf-Penguin fan now becomes what...a Devils fan? A Rangers fan?
Wankers...

[wildboy26]

I was very impressed with their play. I never thought they would beat the Penguins so easily as they did this series. The one game the Penguins won was a bit lucky for them, atleast 3 of the other games the Sens dominated-not even really in doubt games.

This might be their year, since they dont have the pressure of being the favorites. They are not the favorite, the Sabres are favored over them clearly to win the East, and the Ducks, Red Wings, and Sharks are all favored over them from the other side. So hopefully that will be what they need to win it all, not the pressure of people picking them to win like other years. I have my fingers crossed.

[Madferret]

Sens eliminate Pens; Crosby's 1st postseason ends

OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators brought a decisive end to Sidney Crosby's teen years in the NHL.

In the second year of his career, Sidney Crosby appeared in his first NHL playoff series. How did the Kid's first postseason compare to the Great One? A look at how Crosby compared to Wayne Gretzky:

Ray Emery made 20 saves for his first playoff shutout, leading Ottawa to a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night to win their first-round series in five games.

Dany Heatley, Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly scored second-period goals and the Senators held Crosby without a point for a second straight game.

Pittsburgh's 19-year-old superstar was covered by defensemen Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips throughout the series and the Penguins' power play went 0-for-6 on Thursday to finish with no goals in its last 17 opportunities.

"We got beat by a great hockey team that's got a chance to win the Stanley Cup," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said.

Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson praised Crosby's effort in the series, which marked the prodigy's playoff debut.

"He played really well," said Alfredsson, who set up Heatley's power-play goal early in the second. "Obviously we do pay attention when he's on the ice all the time. We knew we wanted Volchenkov and Phillips out against him and we didn't give him too much room, especially the last two games. He's one heck of a player, there's no question."

Emery helped Ottawa weather two early five-on-threes, including one that lasted 1:14 after Dean McAmmond was given a delay of game minor for backhanding the puck over the glass with Wade Redden already in the penalty box.

"Ray Emery was tremendous," Vermette said. "He made some big saves at key moments and then we took over and built some momentum. That was huge for us tonight."

Heatley scored his second goal of the series on a power play 1:08 into the second and Vermette made it 2-0 when he drove through the slot and scored on Marc-Andre Fleury.

Kelly brought the sellout crowd to its feet with a roar once again when he beat Fleury at 17:55.

Ottawa, which has never squandered a 3-1 series lead, advances to face one of the three teams in the New York area.

"I thought we stuck to the game plan for pretty much every game, really executed well and came out of it with not a lot of injuries," Emery said. "We're pretty healthy."

The fourth-seeded Senators will either travel to No. 2 New Jersey or host the sixth-seeded New York Rangers or the eighth-seeded New York Islanders when the second round begins.

Crosby, who turns 20 on Aug. 7, had three goals and two assists through the first three games of the series. The league's youngest scoring leader ever with 120 points this season, Crosby totaled 222 points in his first two seasons with Pittsburgh.

"It was obviously a tough finish but I think we exceeded a lot of expectations in the regular season and we'll have to learn from this," Crosby said.

With a youthful lineup that included Fleury, rookie of the year favorite Evgeni Malkin, 18-year-old Jordan Staal and promising defenseman Ryan Whitney, the Penguins finished a surprising fifth in the Eastern Conference with 105 points, the second-highest season total in franchise history.

Bolstered by veterans Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts and Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2001 -- and ran into a Senators squad making its 10th straight run at the Stanley Cup.

"We had a fun year and we've really grown a lot together and had a great attitude all year," said Recchi, won won his second Stanley Cup last season with Carolina. "This is a great learning process for us right now and I think the guys will remember this feeling for the summer and for next year when the playoffs start. We had 14 or 15 guys playing their first playoff round and next year it's not going to be so foreign to them."

The Penguins had three straight power plays to begin the game. Ottawa was penalized twice for delaying the game within the first 3:32 after Christoph Schubert repeated McAmmond's mistake by clearing a puck over the glass in his zone.

Outshot 7-0 midway through the first period, Ottawa recovered to close out the period with a 9-8 shots deficit before taking it to the Penguins by a 12-6 margin in the decisive second period.

Heatley opened the scoring on the Senators' third power play of the game. He took Alfredsson's pass and beat Fleury with a shot from the edge of the crease.

Vermette connected shortly after Ottawa finished killing Pittsburgh's fourth power play, beating Fleury as he crashed into the goalie.

Kelly made it 3-0 and Mike Comrie came close to putting the Senators up by four when he drove a slap shot off the right post with 1:15 remaining in the second period.

Game notes:
Penguins center Erik Christensen and right winger Georges Laraque returned to the lineup. Right wingers Ronald Petrovicky and Nils Ekman joined defensemen Joel Kwiatkowski and Alain Nasreddine and center Chris Thorburn as healthy scratches. ... Senators right winger Patrick Eaves remained out of the lineup and is still recovering from Colby Armstrong's check that knocked him out of Game 3 with an undisclosed head injury.

[9korona]

Ottawa was great from the net out and deserved to win the series. Great win by Ottawa.

[charlio lemieux]

..and every Leaf-Penguin fan now becomes what...a Devils fan? A Rangers fan?
Wankers...


Whoa. Slow down there Tex. You do understand it's only the first round? A bit early to be a poor winner.

[Madferret]

Whoa. Slow down there Tex. You do understand it's only the first round? A bit early to be a poor winner.

What are you talking about Charlio...

[Madferret]

Sens better suited for a run this year
Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - In the wake of a crushing second-round elimination to the Buffalo Sabres last season, the Ottawa Senators wished they could start that series over.

Fast forward 12 months later and the Senators are back in the same spot after a five-game win in the first round. Except this year's edition believes it's better suited for a run.

"You can see the difference in this hockey club from the previous hockey clubs that I've been with," said Senators GM John Muckler. "This hockey club seems to have something special. The leadership is great, they all get along together, they compete every night, they have the skill level and the physical strength - so we'll see where that takes us."

The difference is the commitment to team defence. The Sabres capitalized on Ottawa's defensive lapses in last year's second-round series and the Senators spent all of this season trying to tighten up. They have. Just ask Sidney Crosby and the high-flying Pittsburgh Penguins, who were largely held in check by a suffocating Senators system. Ottawa has allowed the second-fewest goals on average per game (1.80) among Eastern Conference playoff teams.

"I think the way in which we won the series had a lot to do with how dedicated we were to playing that system," said Senators goaltender Ray Emery. "During the year some guys had off nights and different things happened where you get away from that system. All but one period in this series we really limited their chances and got chances of our own from the way were playing.

"I think that's why the series was lopsided like it was."

And it's why the comparisons to last year's five-game win in the first round over Tampa don't really matter. The Senators believe they're in much better shape 12 months later.

"I think the good thing about it now is that the guys have seen when they play hard and play disciplined what they can achieve," Senators head coach Bryan Murray said Friday. "It's hard to remember back totally, but I think they feel much better about it right now than maybe we did a year ago."

It hasn't come easily. Credit the veteran coach Murray for doggedly trying to convince his players, especially his high-end guys like Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, that playing better defensively would lead to better things.

"We've talked so much and complained so much about it," said Murray. "We showed them tape and embarrassed a couple of guys in private meetings. I think the guys learned from that and learned moreso that being a team they've got a chance to be good here and I think they bought in based on that."

The evolution of Spezza, the team's No. 1 centre with hands smooth as velvet, has been noticeable. He was on the ice for the last minute of play in Tuesday night's 2-1 win in Game 4, something that would have never happened before.

"I'm more proud of that than any goal I'll score," Spezza told reporters that night in Pittsburgh. "Three years ago, I never would have been put out on the ice like that."

Spezza and his teammates had Friday off and will also stay away from the rink on Saturday. Then Murray will re-assemble the team for a practice Sunday. The Senators had a week off last year between rounds and came out flat in a Game 1 loss to Buffalo.

"That's the concern you always have," said Murray. "You can practise hard, you can talk and have meetings and that. But a lot of it has to do with the players. A lot of it has to do with the body starting to heal up, the bruising is gone, and that first game is scary at times.

"What we're doing this year is they'll get today and tomorrow off and when we bring them back Sunday we'll get back into it pretty hard the first couple of days in particular. I'm hoping that overrides any negative thing time may allow."

On the flip side, the short opening series bodes well for a team trying to make a long run.

"Without a doubt, injuries and fatigue become a big factor if you're going to go a distance and I think there's some real benefit to that (starting with a short series)," said Murray.

Defenceman Anton Volchenkov can use the time off. A key ingredient in limiting Crosby's chances in the series, the Russian blue-liner got hurt during Game 5 although he did return.

"He kind of caught his arm on the wall," said Murray. "And even when he came back to play a shift, I thought that he was a little tender out there, he played with one hand. But talking to the trainers, I certainly think a couple of days off will make a huge difference and he'll be OK."

[charlio lemieux]

What are you talking about Charlio...
I dunno. I am a Leafs fan, I am also cheering for the Rangers, and I was actually cheering for the Sens. The comment just rubbed me the wrong way.

The wankers thing seemed a bit lacking in class.

[9korona]

Bye bye baby Pens and here comes the Devils. This should be a good series, but I expect Ottawa to take it.

[Max Power]

I dunno. I am a Leafs fan, I am also cheering for the Rangers, and I was actually cheering for the Sens. The comment just rubbed me the wrong way.

The wankers thing seemed a bit lacking in class.

Did the cheers go something like this
"Choke!" "Choke!" "Choke!" =]

Anyways the whole choke talk rubs sens fans the wrong way because it lacks comon sense so you can see how it bothers us. Other then maybe 1 or 2 series Ottawa has not lost to an inferior club. They've also been one of the youngest teams each year because it's core has stuck together. Leaf fans and media love the choke story even though they're the one who fabricated it.
Anyways it's not even worth talking about because it's such a dumb subject. Even now I'm sick of hearing how this is a "different" Ottawa club from the media.

As for the real hockey talk I don't see how you can give the rags the clear favorit over Ottawa because Shanahan and Avery? Guys like Fisher and Neil can match them. Also Jagr having to face a real shutdown defensive duo in Philips and Volchenkove could easily frustrate him and turn him into the no show Jagr we've seen many times. I think it would have been a great series but I can't on paper see any advantage.

On a different subject does something about the Crosby injury bother you guys? Why would the Pens sacrifice their best player for at best home ice advantage for 2 weeks? It makes no sense that they wouldn't have rested him for the last two weeks so he can heal. They had already essentially solidified at worst 5th spot.
I’m not saying it’s all BS but I have trouble believing it’s been that long. Sounds like Sid's ego needed an excuse