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The Ottawa Senators haven't held an in-game lead at any point in their series with the New York Rangers. Four games, two overtimes; 0:00 in total.
Ask Paul MacLean if he cares.
For the third consecutive match, the Ottawa Senators looked the better team for the majority of the night, controlling possession and hemming the New York Rangers in their own zone.
Unfortunately, and as expected against an all-world net-minder against Henrik Lundqvist, they had to work fairly deep into overtime to secure the series equalizer - a high-and-tight blast by Kyle Turris for the 3-2 victory.
Of course, Ottawa didn't exactly help their own cause from the jump. New York ripped off a pair of quick goals in the first period, making the most of two bad penalties by Zack Smith and Erik Karlsson. Anton Stralman buried his early-game bid at 0:49 in the first, his second goal of the series, and Ryan Callahan recorded his second mark in four games just a few minutes later.
Finding themselves down a pair of goals, the Ottawa Senators had two options: Fold and head back to Manhattan facing elimination, or answer the bell and play the brand of hockey that we've grown accustomed to all season long.
To the surprise of no one, Paul MacLean's club opted for the latter.
Henrik Lundqvist may have frustrated this team to no end once again, but Ottawa caught a monstrous break midway through the second -- one that would eventually spring all of the momentum in favor of the home team. Coming out of the box on a penalty kill, Matt Carkner received a stretch-pass and rushed in on Henrik Lundqvist, dishing off to Milan Michalek, who finished accordingly.
The rare rush allowed gave Ottawa a newfound energy, and about ten minutes later, after a flurry of opportunities, Sergei Gonchar's blue-line shot on the man advantage beat Henrik Lundqvist to tie the game at two.
While the Senators and Rangers would trade opportunities in a scoreless third, it was a save by Henrik Lundqvist on the streaking Chris Phillips that all but guaranteed a push into overtime. Few goalies are capable of going pipe-to-pipe like that. Lundqvist is the exception.
In overtime - well, another fairly quick session. Jim O'Brien led the two-on-two rush up ice, and let off a beautiful drop pass to the prepared Kyle Turris. Turris, without hesitation, pulled the trigger on a wicked writer that appeared to catch King Lundqvist by surprise - much to the delight of the Ottawa faithful.
Said Lundqvist of the shot:
I picked Turris' shot up too late. And, once I saw it, I knew I was in trouble.
Final score? Ottawa 3, New York 2.
You don't have to be a mathematician to know how important the results of tonight's game were. Ottawa would've been heading back to Madison Square Garden down 3-1 and facing a quick five-game elimination on Saturday night.
Now, they've guaranteed a third game on home-ice, and the possibility of Daniel Alfredsson;s return - a vital playmaker and leader for this team - on the horizon.
Still, to expect this Rangers team to fall apart - as we're seeing with the likes of Vancouver - is a bit unrealistic. John Tortorella's coached this team into the perfect systemic play, and they have a goaltender capable of completely shutting the door on any given night (see: game three).
Where has that gotten them, though? Tied at two games apiece. And, although the scoreboard is locked up, I don't think there's a question as to who has been the better team so far. Ottawa's controlled the play. New York's just made the most of their opportunities.
If Ottawa continues to let the mental mistakes plague their game, New York will advance into round two. However, if they stick to the pressing, up-tempo game that's given New York fits through four, we just might see a rare one-versus-eight upset.
Well, relatively speaking. Out West, the eight-seed Kings are up 1-0 on the Canucks in game four, and already lead the playoff-series three games to none.
Hey. That's hockey.
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