Inconsistent Ottawa Senators take on the aggressive New York Rangers – NHL Playoff Preview
When the New York Rangers took to the rink to play their first playoff series game against the Ottawa Senators, they had a clear goal in mind. They wanted to dominate Senators right from the start to prove how they qualified for the postseason as the top
team of the Eastern Conference.
Rangers did exactly what they wanted to do, but the Senators failed to perform as per their plans. They struggled for most part of the game and when they finally got an opportunity to prove why they were playing in the postseason, it had already got too
late.
Keeping the result of the last game out of their minds, both teams are preparing to play the second game of the seven-game series on Saturday, April 14, 2012, at Madison Square Garden, New York, New York.
The last meeting
Both teams were aggressive throughout the game and struck shots towards goal whenever any opportunity presented itself.
However, Rangers got lucky towards the start as they got their first goal in the first period when their captain, Ryan Callahan, scored.
Rangers increased their lead in the second period in which Marian Gaborik and Brian Boyle scored a goal each while goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, had still not given away any scoring move.
Early in the final period, Brad Richards took Rangers’ score to four.
Senators finally got something to cheer about within the final 10 minutes of the game as they scored two goals, but still fell behind Rangers.
What are they thinking?
Senators’ centre, Jason Spezza, is still optimistic and wants to settle the score in this game. He said:
“They were more consistent than us. The feeling is still optimism. You have to be prepared to lose games to win in the playoffs. We're not going to win them all. We're still optimistic we can make this a series and beat these guys, we just have to play a
little bit better."
Rangers’ forward, Brandon Dubinsky, is cautious. He said:
"We have to anticipate that they are going to come really hard, so we have to be prepared to match their intensity. Anytime you play on the road, you try to get one of the two (games). I'm sure that's going to be on their mind."
Predictions
Rangers gave away a couple of goals towards the end of the last game, but they still have an edge over the Senators.
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