So much for the New York Rangers' easy road through the Atlantic Division.

The Ottawa Senators did what the Ottawa Senators do, and that has been enough to get them to the Eastern Conference final for the first time in 10 years, and the third time in franchise history.

Entering the playoffs as the only team with a negative goal differential, the Senators scratched and clawed their way through a series where they were outscored on the whole, but found a way to win 4 games. The 4-2 victory Tuesday night to eliminate the Rangers was their first win of the playoffs by a margin of more than 1 goal.

Craig Anderson excelled in the third period, doing what I said he needed to do yesterday, and although he got beat on two clear cut breakaways, he stopped 14 third period shots as the Rangers swarmed to get the equalizer.

And what more can we say about Erik Karlsson that hasn't already been said. Not only did he lead the rush that led to his eventual game winner, his second of the series, but he played almost 8 of the last 11 minutes with his team ahead by a goal (and over 11 minutes total in the third period). He was +4, bringing his total to +8 for the playoffs, and he has been on the ice for all 8 game winning goals, having a hand in five of them.

Heavily favored heading into the series, the Rangers didn't come out with the same jump they had in the two previous games at MSG, and the Senators opened the scoring for the first time this series on a nice deflection by Mike Hoffman. Mark Stone made it 2-0 before Mika Zibanejad sliced through the gap between the defense and beat his former teammate to get the Rangers within one. That is when Karlsson took over, and coolly took a pass from Bobby Ryan and found space past fellow countryman Henrik Lundqvist to settle the crowd down and take away the building momentum. The Rangers regained that momentum in the opening minute of the third, as Chris Kreider scored a goal nearly identical to Zibanejad's, but despite peppering Anderson, they could get no closer.

There was far too much time spent on the status of Chris Neil, who ended up playing a team low1:49 and didn't have any impact on the game and the strategy nearly cost them as they were shorthanded after Victor Stalberg left the game early in the second period, essentially leaving them with 10 useable forwards for more than half the game.

Someone who did have an impact, and seemed to be singlehandedly trying to give the game away was Cody Ceci. He was victimized by being out of position on both Rangers' goals, and then his inability to make quick decisions with the puck led to a couple of turnovers in his own end in the waning minutes that resulted in great scoring chances. Fortunately, he was bailed out by Anderson's stellar play in the final frame. I have seen the massive amount of criticism levied at Ceci this season, in these forums and others, and for the most part I have avoided piling on (at least publicly). The fact is that exposing him (and losing him) in the expansion draft might be the best option for the Senators, because he is simply not a top 4 defenseman at this point and I think his upside is shrinking by the day. He has his moments, but on the whole he is underwhelming and a change of scenery might be the best thing for him, because he is approaching Jared Cowen territory in terms of fan backlash.

The Senators will await the winner of tonight's epic game 7 showdown between the Penguins and Captials, which will determine if it will be a Captial City showdown or if they will be headed to the Steel City on the weekend. If it is Washington, the series might not be able to start until Monday, because there is a Wizards playoff game scheduled Friday night, an Arena Football game Saturday and a WNBA game on Sunday, unless they push back one of the times on the weekend (both events are supposed to be doors open at 6pm) and play an early afternoon game, but they would have to have a plan in place for an extended overtime and would probably not be able to transfer the arena from hockey to basketball or football on time. There is no such conflict should it be the Pens that come out victorious tonight.

While the Senators will undoubtedly be underdogs again, neither team really scares me despite the disparity in points. Ottawa played both teams well in the regular season, and have a good record against good teams. Both of their potential opponents have their blemishes and with a bit of luck maybe a double or triple overtime battle to determine the winner would be in order.

I like what Karlsson said in his post-game on ice interview, that they believe in themselves and they aren't close to being done yet. From anyone else it might seem like hyperbole, but he has the eye of the tiger and a swagger that says he might almost be able to singlehanded drag his club to the promised land. I am not saying they will win, but this team certainly won't go down without a fight and whoever beats them will have earned it.

Congratulations to the Rangers on a hard fought series, one that with a couple of bounces early on could have gone much different. But it didn't so bring on the Caps or Pens.

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