The Rangers were bound to lose sooner or later. After all, there was no way they were going to finish the season with just nine regulation losses. The Senators are a good team, and they play the Rangers well. With the Rangers loss tonight, the teams are 1-1-1 in three games with one left to go. This was going to be a troublesome game, as we predicted,

Offense

  • Wojtek Wolski played very well tonight. He generated chances, got to open ice, and just had a good game. That’s your spot he’s after Ruslan Fedotenko.
  • Speaking of Fedotenko, that was not a “cheap kneeing” penalty he had on Jason Spezza. It was a hockey play, so anyone saying it was dirty is kidding themselves. Fedotenko is a lot of things, but dirty is not one of them.
  • The fact that the powerplay in the third period consisted of Fedotenko, Brian Boyle, and Carl Hagelin was a message. That message: get your act together. The recipients: The top six forwards.
  • I did not notice Brad Richards at all this game.
  • Artem Anisimov seemed to be in the dog house in the second period, as pointed out by Joe on the telecast. It was clear that he was receiving less ice time when Mike Rupp was on the powerplay with Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik. To be fair, Rupp did a good job in front of the net.
  • This game reminded me a lot of the game against Phoenix, where the Rangers took a lot of shots, but couldn’t solve the goalie. The issue here is that the shots weren’t quality shots. There were a lot of perimeter shots, which is why save percentage is such a faulty stat.
  • Brian Boyle needs to start finishing. Period.
  • So does Anisimov.
  • There was a lot of “Hagelin goes to the net” from Sam tonight. I smiled. Good things.
  • The Rangers couldn’t solve the Senators 1-2-2 trap…at all. It was sad to watch.
  • That said, the 1-2-2 trap alternated with the 2-1-2 forecheck, which is what we said in the pregame. The Sens give a lot of looks, and the Rangers had trouble solving them.

Defense/Goaltending

  • It’s tough to really fault the defense or the goaltending in this game. The Sens play a trap system, but the Rangers didn’t allow much offensively.
  • The Rangers dominated this game, but one quick shot by Jason Spezza really set the tone for the game. That tone: one goal may be enough.
  • Henrik Lundqvist sure did work on that glove, didn’t he?
  • Speaking of what he’s worked on, he worked on the low stick side too. That save on the Erik Karlsson shot was simple but beautiful.
  • Michael Del Zotto saved the game in the third period after an odd bounce in the crease.

Sens/Officiating

  • The officiating seemed pretty fair and consistent, which is rare for NHL refs.
  • The Sens really did rely on Craig Anderson tonight, and he stood tall. The Rangers didn’t test him, but he made saves when he had to.
  • Kyle Turris sure is something. He started slow in Ottawa, but he really solidified their second line.
  • Spezza made one great play blocking the Brian Boyle shot, then wound up getting the puck to Karlsson, who found Michalek, who roofed it on Hank. That play started with the Spezza’s play on Boyle.

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