Overwhelmed by a fast start from their opposition, the Ottawa Senators were blown away on Tuesday by the New York Rangers, 4-1.
Ottawa still has the slight luxury of a one-game lead in the series, but that three-goal deficit has got to be a concern. It was the first time this postseason that a game the team played in was decided by more than one goal.
All things considered, though, the Senators managed to put up a good fight in Game 3. They were only outdone by the Rangers by three shots, and goalie Craig Anderson made as many saves as his counterpart, Henrik Lundqvist (26). Even Jean Gabriel-Pageau kept his hot scoring streak going by finding the back of the net in the second period, giving him five goals over the last two games.
However, health is not on the Sens’ side heading into Thursday’s showdown. Right wing Bobby Ryan, the team’s leading scorer in the playoff with eight points, left late in Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury. And although Ryan’s likely able to play in Game 4, the same could not be said about his fellow forward Zack Smith, who also suffered an upper-body blow that appears more serious than his.
The New York Rangers badly needed a win on Tuesday to make the series more interesting, and they certainly came out with more energy to seal the crucial victory in Game 3.
Mats Zuccarello had a goal and an assist in the first period, wherein New York jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and never look back. Michael Grabner, Rick Nash and Oscar Lindberg also scored, which is a good sign that the Blueshirts are returning back to form. They were the fourth-highest scoring team in the league during the regular season and they certainly appeared as such in that contest.
Henrik Lundqvist’s well-known dominance between the pipes is starting to show as well. The former Vezina Trophy winner improved his save percentage in this postseason to a superb .935 mark, and he also now has a total of 289 saves in the playoffs to lead all goaltenders.
With three-straight wins to date at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are in good shape to keep rolling over the Senators this Thursday night. And if they blitz the Sens with another early scoring barrage at home, the Sens are bound to be in deep trouble once more.
Writer’s Prediction
The Rangers (-105) tie the series at two games apiece with a 4-2 victory.
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