OTTAWA Adidas Womens David Backes
Jersey , Ontario (AP) All Ottawa Senators coach Guy Boucher had to
do was look at his players and he could see how determined they were. Ottawa
clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and home-ice advantage in the
first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 3-1 win over the New York
Rangers on Saturday. While the Rangers have had their playoff spot locked up for
weeks it wasn’t until Thursday that the Senators clinched their ticket to the
postseason. With an opportunity to lock down home ice Ottawa came out determined
and was clearly the better team. ”I saw (the players) eyes today and they had
fire in their eyes today,” said Boucher. ”I have a lot of respect for them
coming out and playing hard.” The Senators’ postseason opponent remains unknown
at this point, but they have the luxury of resting players for Sunday’s final
regular-season game against the New York Islanders. Ottawa has won three
straight and is playing with a renewed confidence after having struggled through
a stretch of five straight losses. ”This last little stretch really tested
everybody here,” Mark Borowiecki said. ”It just seemed like the perfect storm
for a little bit. We weren’t playing our best hockey, combined with injuries,
combined with other teams coming on strong and bounces not going our way and it
seemed like it might get away from us, but I think it kind of speaks of the
resiliency in this room Adidas Youth Anders Bjork
Jersey , the character in here and the depth.” The Senators remain
without a number of players, including captain Erik Karlsson who missed his
second straight game with a lower body injury, but said he would be ready for
the start of the playoffs, but feels he will benefit from the rest. ”It’s been a
while since I rested during the regular season,” Karlsson said. ”The guys did a
great job handling things with all the injuries that we had. Come next week
there should be no issues.” Boucher also said he expected Marc Methot, who
hasn’t played since March 23 due to a finger injury, to be ready sometime this
week. Mike Hoffman Adidas Brad Marchand #63
Jersey , Derick Brassard and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the
Senators and Craig Anderson made 18 saves. Mika Zibanejad scored for New York
and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30 shots. The Rangers have lost back-to-back games
and will wrap up the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rangers coach Alain
Vigneault admitted his team, which was missing a number of players, had a hard
time following the Senators speed and skill. ”If I look at it from a positive
aspect our goaltender got a lot of work so at the end of the day we’ve got one
more game and then we’re trying to get ready for the playoffs.” Boucher tinkered
with his lines and was so pleased with the results that he thought they could
stay intact for the playoffs. One combination saw Pageau between Hoffman and
Mark Stone, while Turris centered Clarke MacArthur and Ryan Dzingel. Brassard
looked great between Alex Burrows and Viktor Stalberg. Pageau, who earned his
100th career point, tipped Borowiecki’s point shot into the net to make it 3-0
at 6:19 of the third period. Zibanejad broke Anderson’s shutout bid in the final
minute of play, scoring on a wraparound goal. The Senators came out flying in
the second period and were rewarded with a 2-0 lead as they outshot New York
16-5. Ottawa controlled the momentum throughout the period and took a 2-0 lead
as Stalberg dropped a pass back to Brassard Adidas Tim Schaller #59
Jersey , who beat Lundqvist stick side. There was no denying
Brassard’s relief as he scored his first in 11 games. ”It always feels good to
score, especially on Lundqvist,” Brassard said. ”I gave him a hard time after
the first goal and he robbed me in the third.” The Senators opened the scoring
at the three-minute mark as Hoffman beat Lundqvist from the top of the faceoff
circle after the Senators had created a number of chances. NOTES: Ottawa RW
Chris Neil was a healthy scratch, as were C Colin White, C Chris DiDomenico and
D Jyrki Jokipakka. New York’s Mika Zibanejad was making his first return to
Ottawa since being traded for Derick Brassard in the summer. UP NEXT: Rangers:
Host the Penguins on Sunday night. Senators: Travel to Brooklyn to face the
Islanders on Sunday night.. Matt
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