This will be a pivotal game in the series. When I made my pre-series prediction, I said if the Senators could come away with a split in the first two games in Montreal, they would win in 6. If Montreal takes the first two at home, it will be really tough, if not impossible to beat the Habs and Carey Price 4 times in 6 games.
I don't necessarily buy into the theory that the Bell Centre got to Andrew Hammond in game 1, but he certainly needs to play better. Not a lot better, but bearing down and making that one save at the right time to bail out his team as he has done so often in the past couple of months would have made a big difference. It's not like Carey Price would have won the Vezina based on his Game 1 performance, and he had issues of his own, but he did just enough to win. A four goal second period is the biggest slice of adversity Hammond has faced in his brief NHL career, and he needs a bounce-back game to show that he can handle the spotlight and the pressure (and not making me and my prediction look really bad in the process). This could be a defining game for him.
Hammond isn't the only one who has to improve by any means. The Senators blue line and their lack of postseason experience was a concern for many heading in, as the two pairs after Karlsson-Methot had just a handful of playoff games between them, and it showed at times. The Canadiens were opportunistic, and cashed in on their chances while the Senators didn't.
Still, they were within a shot, or a fortunate bounce, of sending the game to OT where the outcome could have been different. They weren't so badly outplayed that they can't gain a little bit of confidence from a performance like that. It was essentially the Habs' 4th line that beat them, something that isn't likely to be repeated at that level. If it does happen again, the Senators are in big trouble.
Assuming Stone is a no-go, it could be Chris Neil or Zack Smith taking his place, with Mike Hoffman moving up in the lineup. Or, could we get a little-expected and much dreaded Colin Greening sighting? Personally, I would be on the phone to Binghamton and summoning Shane Prince, who looked so good in his two game audition before being swapped out for Matt Puempel in the early days of the Senators' recent run, to take Stone's spot in the lineup.
I have had about enough of Bobby Ryan's disappearing act. If he is injured as some are speculating, then he needs to sit down and let someone healthy take his place. Giving it a go is one thing, but he isn't helping the team right now, and it is going on weeks not days since he has produced anything. If he doesn't come to life (and very soon) the Senators won't have enough scoring to compete in this series, now more important than ever with the question marks surrounding Stone. It is time for him to get something positive done.
Final Thoughts on Game 1
It is time to turn the page, focus on the game and don't worry about retribution. The loss of Mark Stone hurts the Senators' top 6, but focusing on retaliation and payback is exactly what the Habs want.
Game 1 brought about a ton of emotions and no doubt brought out words that the people who said them wish they hadn't been said.
And as much as the fans of the Senators, who are probably just as mad at the assertion that Stone was faking his injury as they were at the act itself, can vent, the team itself needs to put that aside and not let that change the game plan any more than an absent Stone forces them to.
I still assert that there is reason to be upset, for a number of reasons but sometimes things are better left unsaid. I think back to the whole Matt Cooke- Erik Karlsson situation. I said at the time that Cooke shouldn't be held accountable for the injury suffered by Karlsson, quite simply because of the level of precision that would have been required purposefully commit such an act with his skate. I was in the overwhelming minority on that one, and I took crap for at the time from the Senators fan base. Then Mr. Melnyk opened his mouth and the words "forensic evidence" took a new, embarrassing meaning and made himself and the team a bit of a laughingstock. And it makes the Senators look like they are crying wolf when something legitimate happens, like this.
That makes it tougher to legitimately call out Subban, the slash act, however blatant and illegal it was deemed (or not deemed) to be. But I can't help but wonder had it been the other way around, how long it would have taken the police to be called in and an assault investigation undertaken. And you can't say that it would never happen...
Anyhow, whatever your take is on the events of game 1, the act shouldn't have been committed and Dave Cameron should have left it to the league to handle, or at least let Bryan Murray deal with it behind closed doors instead of promising retribution in a public forum. No good can come of that because everything that was already going to be closely watched will be under a microscope.
In my mind, the most important factor could be the fact that if Subban does something stupid like that again, is that he won't be considered a repeat offender in the eyes of the NHL because there is no supplementary discipline from the league. I also don't like the fact that the NHL Department of Player Safety is a Montreal native and former 2-time Canadiens player. There are enough people in the league office that are dealing with discipline now that he shouldn't be commenting or ruling on incidents involving the Canadiens. That is almost like his predecessor Colin Campbell ruling on games involving the Bruins, who his son played for. I am not saying it played a factor in the decision, but the optics are bad.
But one major point that was discussed and debated at length throughout the game and into yesterday was the level of injury that was sustained on the play. While one side accused Stone of acting, faking and drama, the fact is there was an injury on the play. Critics were acting like that was the first time ever an injured player came back to a game before a penalty that caused the injury had expired. Newsflash folks, it happens all the time. Stone came back, in a limited role, most likely after having his arm frozen to take away some of the instant pain, and adrenaline is also a factor. But there is no doubt he was labouring every time he touched the puck and was favouring the arm any time contact was imminent.
Again, it depends on your point of view and which side of the fence you fall on, but I am sure Senators supporters are lauding Stone for coming to the aid of a teammate (who suffered a very similar fate to him at the final buzzer) in spite of the injury in the game-ending scrum, at the same time Habs fans point to that as evidence of the lack of seriousness of the injury.
People are always going to lean one way or another based on what colour of glasses they are wearing. Arguing back and forth on these forums, although sometimes amusing, sometimes frustrating, isn't going to change anyone's mind or solve anything.
The players are going to do that on the ice, and this is a big one for the Senators. They missed an opportunity in game 1 so they need to get the job done in game 2 and come home with the split.