All slates are wiped clean. All teams have 0 wins and 0 losses. All players have 0 points. All the predictions are put aside and we can finally start playing some playoff hockey!
The Ottawa Senators will be suiting up tonight without the services of a few key players but this most be used as a motivation factor instead of an excuse. The Senators are built for the playoffs. The lineup (shown below) has grit from the 2nd line down with a ton of playoff experience and they all love to initiate contact. In the past grit, toughness and experience has been the Achiles’ heel of young skillful team.
Spezza and Heatley teamed up for a total of 8 goals against the Penguins during the regular season. Should the Penguins 3rd line manage to shut-down down our top line a lot of the secondary scoring will be placed on Vermette and McAmmond’s lines. The 2nd and 3rd lines for Ottawa need to crash the net and get some ugly goals much like Vermette did against in Ottawa’s 8-2 romp of the Blue Team.
Bryan Murray has decided to split up the defensive shut-down pairing of Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips. Phillips and, trade deadline acquisition, Mike Commodore will attempt to shut-down one of Pittsburgh’s top lines. Murray has also opted to combine a young puck moving tandem in Andrei Meszaros and, rookie, Brian Lee.
Forwards
Heatley-Spezza-Robitaille
Donovan-Vermette-Stillman
Foligno-McAmmond-Neil
Schubert-Bass-Lapointe
Defence pairings
Redden-Volchenkov
Phillips-Commodore
Meszaros-Lee
Goalies
Gerber
Emery
