Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.34

www.afootinthecrease.com

So I thought to myself last night, with all the glee and jubilation coming from Ottawa after the Senators disposed of the Penguins in five games and opened their second round series with a win against the Devils, it’s time this segment be one that generates the bulk of its response from our friends to the northeast.

The big question: Is this Senators team any different than the ones that failed year after year in the past? Well they certainly looked to be a different playoff team throughout the first round against the Penguins. In reality though, everybody knows that should the Senators playoff run come to an end in the second round, the same changes will take place that would have had they bowed out after round one. So a first round victory over a largely playoff inexperienced bunch will be set aside for now. Its significance will depend future success the Senators may or may not have going forward.

In the Devils, the Senators get one of the most playoff savvy teams with one of the best money goalies of all time. So they win game 1 but it was hardly a textbook effort. Any game a team wins after going up four goals and then comes within a goal post of surrendering the lead is not one they leave the rink feeling confident. Instead it’s much more of a, “Boy did we get away with that one” feel. Game 2, the Sens go down two goals but showed good character fighting back against a stingy Devils team to tie the game and send it to extra time. In fact, the Senators were by far the better team after the first period, out shooting the Devils 40-17 from the second period onwards. This time, a game they probably deserved ended in a heartbreaking double OT loss.

So far the Sens have not looked the same against the Devils as they did in round one. Game 3 will answer a lot of questions. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.