Prelude to Game Seven

Well that was interesting -- the Senators jumped out to an early lead and held on until "penalty trouble" in the second.

I'm not so sure about it being "penalty trouble".  That's not to say that any of the official's calls were not justified, I think they were.  I just think that the officials showed a distinct lack of interest in calling similar offences when they were committed by New York.

The End Of Pittsburgh's Season

And Neil's goal in the dying seconds of the game -- well while he probably kicked it in, I'd say that there wasn't conclusive evidence on the tape, so the war room couldn't over-ride the call on the ice.  When the official spoke after the call and his mike was dead, I'm like: "Nobody cares what you have to say buddy, just point at the center of the ice."  And he did.

I think that dying goal gives momentum to Ottawa going into New York for game 7.  New York has to know that Ottawa is capable of beating them in their own rink and has done so before.  I still think it is possible for Ottawa to come out of this as the series winner.

Make no mistake about it, I don't think the Senators have pushed this series to seven games -- I think New York pushed it to seven games.  Ottawa has been the superior team for long, long periods of time in the games I have watched -- it is just that A) they have not been better than Lundquist and B) the Rangers have been better enough.

Roll on Thursday.

(I added the picture there because it made me laugh.)

Cardiac Kids: Playoffs Edition

Wow!  That was fun, wasn't it?  When Michalek ripped that goal in the 2nd, it was just such a relief after a total lack of scoring in game 1.  Even through the TV I could see that the rink just exploded in relief that scoring on home ice was actually going to be possible.

And coming after giving up two easy goals, well lots of other teams would have just given up.  But for whatever reason this team wants to play from behind, and so they are still in this series even though they've never led in regulation.

The second goal was similarly epic, coming after Spezza went off after a scary blow to the head.

Ottawa was the better team for long periods of play last night, with only Lundqvist's heroics keeping New York in the game.  It looked to be a game of inches as the puck slid slowly and gracefully just wide of the post at least twice, where Ottawa wasn't going to get the lucky breaks.

I wouldn't say that game was fun -- but it sure was a relief.

And with that win the boys have bought another home game for Mr. Melnyk, helping to ensure that the team doesn't slip into the red this year.

Game 5 is in New York on Saturday, and Game 6 is TBA but should be Monday.

Round 1: NYR(1) vs OTT(8)

Even though Ottawa has beat the Rangers in the regular season, I think overall the Rangers are the better team.  They have more depth, more skill.  That's not to say that Ottawa won't put up a stiff fight -- I'm sure the Rangers will have to work for their wins, and at the end of the series they'll know they were in a series with a serious team.

My call: Rangers in 6, or maybe Ottawa in 7.