Senators at Penguins
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Bobby Ryan are paying significant dividends in the playoffs after some admittedly lean times during the regular season. After stepping up in the opener of the Eastern Conference final, the Ottawa Senators forwards look to put the reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins on the ropes Monday when the teams reconvene at PPG Paints Arena for Game 2.
"It's a refresh, I think, for me. I think it was a complete restart," said Ryan, who set up Pageau's series-opening goal before the latter returned the favor on the former's overtime tally at 4:59 to give Ottawa a 2-1 victory Saturday. Ryan was taken to task for his career-worst regular-season point total of 25 (13 goals, 12 assists) before erupting for 11 (five goals, six assists) in the playoffs, with nine of them (four goals, five assists and three game-winning tallies) coming in seven road games. While Pittsburgh saw Evgeni Malkin register his league-leading 19th point with his third-period goal, coach Mike Sullivan insisted his team needs to generate more shots after mustering only 17 at even strength in the series opener. "Ottawa defends the scoring area very well, and sometimes the best way to break down coverage is a shot on goal and a rebound goes somewhere and decisions have to be made," Sullivan said.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVAS
ABOUT THE SENATORS: Pageau's one-timer in the first period Saturday gave the 24-year-old seven of his team-leading eight postseason goals in his last six contests, this on the heels of scoring only 12 while playing in all 82 regular-season games. Pageau set up Ryan's overtime winner to give Ottawa six wins in the extra session, pushing the club one shy of matching the 2002 Carolina Hurricanes and 2003 Anaheim (then-Mighty) Ducks and four behind the 1993 Montreal Canadiens for most during a playoff season. "For the most part, we find that the most fun," Senators forward Kyle Turris said. "Playoffs, it's so much fun. It's a blast. ... I think every kid dreams about playing overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs."
ABOUT THE PENGUINS: Captain Sidney Crosby is as even-keel as they come, so perhaps it's no surprise that the two-time Hart Trophy winner kept his cool after being kept under wraps in the opener. "There were some good looks there," Crosby said after recording two shots in 23:32 of ice time. "They're not going to give you anything but we worked hard to get our chances and we've got to bury them when we get them." Pittsburgh defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Olli Maatta came under fire for their roles in Ottawa's goals as the former's decision to reverse the puck on a breakout led to Pageau's tally while the latter was beaten on a sprint to the net by Ryan in overtime.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh is 5-0 in Game 2 of a series dating back to last season's playoff run.
2. The Senators failed on both their power-play opportunities in Game 1 after going 6-for-12 versus the Penguins during the regular season, but Pittsburgh came up empty on five chances to extend its rut to 0-for-10 in the last three contests.
3. The Penguins won 17-of-23 faceoffs in the third period of the series opener after losing 26-of-43 through the first 40 minutes.