As the Sens are once again taking care of the Montreal Canadiens tonight, it’s 3-0 as I write this, all appears to be returning to form in Ottawa.
The Senators have won their past 2 games and were robbed of a victory by a young goalie the game before the streak started. They’ve gone back to last year’s style. Team commitment to defense, responsible play in the neutral zone and tough forecheck in the offensive zone. They’re playing very well…
But… they’re playing well enough to get out of the Eastern Conference but this style of play does not work in the Western Conference. As San Jose, Anaheim and to a lesser extent Los Angeles showed, the soft chip and chase does not work in the West. For whatever reason, the game is called differently in the other Conference and the Sens forwards were constantly impeded coming into the zone during last year’s Stanley Cup Finals and the same tactics were used during their Western Road Trip.
Montreal and Ottawa are undoubtedly a top-5 team in the Eastern Conference but both combined for a 3-5 record against the Ducks, the Sharks, the Kings and the Coyotes.
If the Sens keep up their rejuvenated play, I have no doubt that they’ll be competing for the Eastern Finals once again this year. However the Sens, and probably any other team coming out of the East, we need to adapt to the Western style in order to bring the Cup back to the East.
