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The Ottawa Senators - led by the strong effort of newly-acquired goaltender Ben Bishop in relief of Craig Anderson - knocked off the New York Rangers 4-1 at Scotiabank Place, wrapping up the season series against the Eastern Conference's best.
In the three games prior to tonight's tilt, the Ottawa Senators - for a variety of reasons - matched up quite well against the New York Rangers. The Senators had taken two of three on the year, including one stellar come from behind victory on Broadway early in the season.
Although the New York Rangers opened up the scoring on a nifty first-period marker from Ryan Callahan(26), the Ottawa Senators never really looked like they were behind. The team won the majority of puck battles in every third, and played strong defensive hockey in front of G Ben Bishop.
Ottawa would quickly erase the Callahan goal on a Zack Smith seventy-six seconds later, and grabbed a lead they'd never relinquish on Nick Foligno's goal in-tight on Rangers back-up Martin Biron.
With shots and scoring opportunities for both sides limited, Ottawa was well within their right to sit home and opt for the more conservative, physical game. It's rare to catch a team that's willing to bang with a club cut from New York's cloth, but we're quickly learning - after victories against the Flyers, Bruins, and Rangers - that the Senators are primed for that variety of hockey.
The Senators added two more goals in the third period, giving them their final three-goal margin. Kyle Turris scored his eighth of the season after some brilliant work by Daniel Alfredsson to get a shot on net, and Jason Spezza would sink the empty-net tally for his 29th of the year.
The big names weren't out in full force tonight, but they didn't need to be. All four lines contributed, and the defensive pairings were equally effective. A total team effort - no question.
All in all, an enormous home victory for an Ottawa team inching closer and closer to a playoff birth. With the two regulation points, Ottawa moved to about 97%(weighted) likely to reach the playoffs.
For Ottawa, the offense wasn't spectacular, and New York did an impressive job bottling up the attack and rush. Yet, it was effective and timely - attributes that can go a long way when it comes to post-season success.
And how 'bout Ben Bishop? Of the two goalies tonight, Bishop was far and away the better man. Martin Biron - in relief of Henrik Lundqvist - looked a bit sloppy on his rebound control and positioning, stopping just 18 of 21 shots. On the other hand, Bishop thwarted 25 of 26 - a number of which came from high-scoring areas.
Perhaps Bishop's average debut down in Tampa Bay did have a lot to do with nerves. Tonight, he looked supremely confident. And man, is he big as shit.
Your move, Robin Lehner.
Two quick notes before wrapping this up. First, congratulations to Rob Klinkhammer for recording his first National Hockey League point, picking up an assist on Kyle Turris' tally. Looks like that conditional 2013 7th round pick is heading the way of Chicago. How deeply depressed are you? What a loss.
Second - Ryan Callahan appeared to miss some time in the third period. Injury related? I'll keep tabs on it and report back. Don't think it was anything serious, though.
New York's back in action tomorrow night at the Madhouse in Madison. Ottawa hosts Buffalo on Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada. The Sabres just lost in regulation to the Bruins, so a Senators regulation victory could be the absolute kill shot to their playoff hopes.
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