Senators at Bruins
The Ottawa Senators were 20 minutes from dropping both home games and falling into an 0-2 hole in their Eastern Conference first-round series before staging a dramatic rally. The Senators look to ride the momentum from Saturday's come-from-behind win in overtime when they visit the Boston Bruins on Monday in Game 3 of the best-of-seven set.
Ottawa erased a two-goal deficit in the third period before leveling the series against the Bruins on an overtime goal by defenseman Dion Phaneuf. “The resilience we showed through the last portion of the year came out again,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said following Saturday's 4-3 victory. “We’ve talked about the fact that adversity builds you or destroys you, and we prefer to see it as a builder. Boston seized home-ice advantage from Ottawa by scoring a pair of third-period goals in a 2-1 win in Game 1, but now must regroup after squandering a glittering chance to take command of the series. “It’s definitely disappointing, but now that it happened we have to move forward,” Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said. “It would be nice to win 16 in a row, but that’s not easy to do. So you have to move forward and learn from what just happened.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CNBC, Sportsnet, TVAS (Ottawa), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE SENATORS: Forward Clarke MacArthur, who returned earlier this month after being sidelined since October 2015 due to a concussion, electrified the Ottawa fans Saturday when he scored for the first time in two years. MacArthur called it probably his "best moment" in hockey and Boucher went one step further. "When he raised his arms I think the whole city did at the same time," Boucher said. "It was very special, one of the most special moments I've lived as a coach because it's everybody ... celebrating something that must have been very tough to live all year and it comes at a perfect time."
ABOUT THE BRUINS: Already minus center David Krejci and defensemen Torey Krug, Brandon Carlo and Colin Miller, Boston's absorbed another blow when blue-liner Adam McQuaid was hurt in Game 2. While all continue to be listed as day-to-day, there was some positive news on the injury front: Miller skated at Sunday's practice and has a shot to return while forward Noel Acciari is expected to be available and take his place on the fourth line alongside Dominic Moore and Riley Nash. "He was playing good hockey when he got hurt, so there's a good chance that he'll draw back into the lineup," coach Bruce Cassidy said.
OVERTIME
1. Senators D Mark Borowiecki also was injured in Game 2 and is a question mark for Monday's matchup.
2. Bruins D Zdeno Chara logged a season-high 30:09 of ice time in Game 2.
3. Phanuef broke a 10-game point drought with his first three-point game of the season.