UPDATE: The Senators have re-assigned G Chris Driegder to the minors, meaning that the Senators will have both Craig Anderson and Andrew Hammond available for tonight's game. Anderson will start, as confirmed by the coach at 2:30ish. Greening in for Smith and Cowen in for Wiercioch
It is certainly not time to panic, but there is cause for concern in Sens Army. Losing to the Rangers they way they did is one thing, but not being able to finish off the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs after holding leads of 2-0 and 3-1 is another thing entirely.
It wasn't a great day for the Senators' playoff chances, but it could have been much worse. With Washington losing the Senators picked up a point on the Capitals while losing a point to the Bruins. Florida, the opponent for tonight, kept pace with the Senators and are sticking around in the race making tonight's contest an extremely important game otherwise the Senators will not only be looking ahead but will also have the Panthers right on their taillights.
Like I said yesterday, expect the unexpected when it comes to the battle of Ontario, and this one was no different. The Senators had a couple of weird (and rather weak) calls go against them in the first period, but managed to get through unscathed. That included one of the worst penalty shot calls I have ever seen, but Craig Anderson made the stop.
Mark Stone and Curtis Lazar scored just over a minute and a half apart in the second, and although not overly tested through 40 minutes, it looked like Craig Anderson was going to be able to make that hold up.
Then, Tyler Bozak happened.
The maligned first line centre for the Maple Leafs scored 3 times in the third period to force overtime, and then assisted on Eric Brewer's winner in the extra frame to, no doubt, elicit a loud expletive deleted from the Ottawa fan base.
It would be tough not to point the finger at Craig Anderson for the loss, because on at least a couple of goals he overplayed certain shots and put himself out of position, including the winner where he was swimming outside his crease when the puck was knocked in. That being said, the Senators sat back with the lead and managed just 3 shots in the third period, and had too many defensive lapses that allowed the Leafs back into the game.
Right now this looks like a team that had been playing with nothing to lose for so long, and now that there is pressure and expectation they seem to be wilting a bit.
Now attention turns to the Panthers, who are just as desperate as the Senators and have been clinging to the playoff race in their own right amidst some adversity. Leading scorer Nick Bjugstad is out for the season with back surgery, but the Panthers are still keeping pace.
So today is a huge day in the playoff race with all 4 teams in the race in action. Boston faces Carolina, and the Rangers host the Capitals. Hopefully the Rangers can provide some help for the Senators that they didn't in yesterday's loss to the Bruins. This week the Senators will be looking to the Hurricanes for a lot of help, as they play each of the teams Ottawa is fighting with for positioning over the next 5 days.
Ottawa's margin for error is almost back to zero, and with just 8 games left in the season they are approaching must win scenarios once again.