The Ottawa Senators have played, depending on your interpretation of the phrase, any number of "must win" games this season, but Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens is the first time it can be said and truly meant.
While they have played remarkably well in all of their previous "must win" games with their backs against the proverbial wall, they at least had a small margin for error. That is no longer the case and they now begin a series of win or go home games.
One thing we do know is that the Habs will be heading back to Montreal after this game, but the question is, will the Senators be joining them or will it be garbage bag time?
The past three games don't matter any more, the bad goals against, the horrendous second periods are a thing of the past, or at least they had better be if the Sens want to still be playing hockey come Friday night.
And it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, because, neither team has really played its best game as of yet. Montreal has been one shot better in each game, but certainly haven't played Ottawa out of the building in any of the games. While that has to be frustrating for the Senators, they can't look back and must focus on the task at hand.
While Dave Cameron did announce that Zack Smith will take David Legwand's spot in the lineup tonight, he hasn't yet named his starting goalie. Whether it is Andrew Hammond or (more likely) Craig Anderson, the fact is that the Senators need more than one goal or they are going to be finished.
With the Senators going with a more crash and bang fourth line (something Mike Hoffman doesn't really fit) , the onus will be on the second and third lines to contribute something offensively. Offense will be welcome, wherever it comes from, but Karlsson, Turris, Stone and MacArthur can't continue to carry the load alone. Patrick Wiercioch is tied for the team lead in points, which is good for him, but not necessarily a great thing for the Senators.
The Senators came into this series with the deeper and more prolific offense, but the likes of Dale Weise, Bryan Flynn and Torrey Mitchell, Montreal's depth players have been the difference makers so far.
Ottawa can't expect much offense from their new-look 4th line, but getting a contribution on the scoreboard from their second and third lines would go a long way to booking a ticket back to Montreal. The spotlight will be even bigger (if that were possible) on Bobby Ryan, who is mired in a slump that has seen him score just once in his last 23 games.
There certainly can't be any passengers in this game, or any future games the Senators may or may not be playing in the next week. As tight as this series has been, one mistake could be the difference.
And despite the fact that no player wants to be the one to make that mistake, they can't play overly conservative just to avoid that. It is a tough thing to do, but they have to do it. That is the situation that they have put themselves in, and they have to get themselves out of.
There are a lot of cliches to be thrown out when a team faces elimination (and I admittedly have used a lot of them in this post), but the only thing that really matters it what the scoreboard says at the end of the night.