SENSNEWS

The Ottawa Senators are returning to the Canadian Tire Centre for game three of their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Difficult Start To The Playoffs For The Ottawa Senators

The first two games did not go in the Senators’ favour; however, they did show significant improvement between both matches.

So, what do the Ottawa Senators need in game three to get their first win in the playoffs since 2017?

The Ottawa Senators last played a home playoff game back in the Spring of 2017, when Mike Hoffman emphatically put the puck home against the Penguins for a 2-1 win.

Obviously, the Senators would fall in a heartbreaking fashion against the Penguins in game seven. Ever since the organization has been trying to exercise some playoff demons to try to get back into the post-season win column.

Ottawa Senators Need A Great Game 3 Performance

Thursday night, they will have the chance to do so. Captain Brady Tkachuk has spoken about how exciting it is to have the opportunity to play in front of the CTC crowd in the playoffs.

He has called upon the Sens army to show their energy and support for the team.

Now, the Senators have a crucial task ahead of them. The series is already at 2-0 in favour of the Maple Leafs, and losing game three would put the Senators in a very difficult position to move on.

Only a handful of teams have come back from a 3-0 series deficit, so getting that first win at home will be vitally important.

The good news for the Senators is that they realized what they need to do to compete with the Maple Leafs.

Senators Have A Recipe For Success

After the first period of game two, the Senators controlled the play for the most part. It helped them tie things up at two thanks to goals from Brady Tkachuk and Adam Gaudette.

A couple of mistakes in the overtime period cost them the game, and that is a tough lesson that young, inexperienced teams need to learn.

Now, what we need to see is how the team responds following these mistakes. Look to players like Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens to be coming out firing.

Travis Green mentioned that he pulled Batherson aside following their loss in game two so he could give him some words of encouragement. This in my opinion was the correct response from Green.

He knows that Batherson is aware of his mistake, and when a team hasn’t had the most experience, it’s important to show that you still have trust in your key players.

Need To Have A Good Start

So, if the Senators can clean up some of these mental mistakes, and also start the game on time, they have a recipe for success.

The first periods of both games 1 and 2 have been downright ugly for Ottawa. The Senators cannot allow the Maple Leafs to come out flying yet again, especially on home ice.

This should be a reasonable expectation from the team as well. They have proven that they can compete with the Leafs for periods on end.

They simply need to replicate their actions from the second and third periods of game two to give themselves the best chance of winning.

Senators Need A Great Linus Ullmark Performance

And of course, the Senators will only go as far as Linus Ullmark can carry them. Ullmark is the clear-cut starter in Ottawa, but to say his playoff performance has been lacklustre so far would be an understatement.

Throughout his career, Ullmark has struggled in the postseason, and the Senators desperately need him to turn that around.

Travis Green has shown that he is still confident in his team’s netminder. He reiterated after game one that he is the team’s starter, and that he has the utmost confidence with him in the net.

You can only assume that sentiment echoes following game two.

What makes this a more difficult pill to swallow is the fact that Anthony Stolarz has been excellent in the crease for the Maple Leafs.

Find A Solution To Anthony Stolarz

Stolarz has outmatched Ullmark so far in this series, and that is something Ottawa needs to change desperately.

Stolarz has shown a weakness. Rebound control. It’s nitpicking for sure considering he has been excellent so far, but rebounds have proven to be the Senators’ best chance at solving him.

So what does this mean? Bodies to the net, and lots of them. The Senators need to have people crashing the crease in search of rebounds when shots are coming in.

The team needs to make life uncomfortable for Stolarz, which Ridly Greig has certainly been doing.

Ridly Greig Keeps Being Ridly Greig

It’s clear that Ridly Greig has become public enemy #1 in Toronto, and that’s what the Senators need him to do. If he can bait the Maple Leafs into taking a dumb penalty, it could make all the difference in a game for the Senators.

Just look at the fiasco between himself and Anthony Stolarz in game two. Just don’t ask how the penalties were off-setting.

So the blueprint is set out for the Ottawa Senators. They need to start the game on time and ensure that they play a full 60 minutes the same way they played the last 40 in Toronto.

This includes cleaning up the penalties. Something they did much better at in game two.

So get ready Sens fans, because game three is going to be the biggest of Ottawa’s season.

The fate of the series, and Senators’ season all but hangs in the balance. The Senators will need to give everything they’ve got to end an 8-year playoff drought.