The Ottawa Senators have a primary strategy Tuesday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series with the host Toronto Maple Leafs: Stay out of the penalty box.
The Senators allowed three power-play goals Sunday while falling 6-2 to the Maple Leafs in Game 1. Billed as the Battle of Ontario, it won’t be much of a duel if the Maple Leafs continue to have a man advantage.
“We definitely have to stay out of the box. I’ll say that,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “I thought there were a couple calls they did a good job selling.”
Said Senators captain Brady Tkachuk: “It’s clear as day what the issue was. We took too many penalties, they scored and that’s the game. We’ve got to be more disciplined. So that’s on us.”
Discipline, poise and good goaltending were three qualities Toronto showed in Game 1, while Ottawa did not.
The Senators admitted to some early-game nerves Sunday. They have fewer players with postseason experience, and it showed when Toronto took a 2-0 lead at 12:18 of the first period on a goal from Mitch Marner.
“I thought the first five, 10 minutes, we were a little nervous, which is probably to be expected,” Green said. “We have a lot of guys who haven’t played in the playoffs, but five-on-five, I liked our game.”
Toronto coach Craig Berube hopes to lean into his team’s confident approach.
“It’s important to have composure,” Berube said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs, a lot of things go wrong, things go right, and discipline is very important.”
Ottawa cut the lead to 2-1 before the end of the first period before the Toronto power play took over by going 3-for-6. Ottawa was 0-for-2 on its power-play chances.
“The power play has been rolling for a while,” Berube said. “They’re doing a good job. For me, it’s about getting pucks to the net with numbers at the net.”
The Senators also will need better in net after Linus Ullmark was outplayed by the Maple Leafs’ Anthony Stolarz, who was making his first career playoff start.
Ullmark could be a key if the Senators are to benefit from the lessons learned from Game 1.
“Kudos to us for staying disciplined,” said Stolarz, who made 31 saves. “Guys know how physical the playoffs are and how you have to keep your composure. So, our guys deserve a lot of credit for doing that.”
Stolarz, who was given the day off from practice Monday, might have changed Game 1 when he stopped Tkachuk on a breakaway one minute into the second period. The chance came after Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly’s giveaway, with the save preserving a one-goal lead.
Ullmark ended up making 18 saves in Game 1.
“There’s some things (to work on),” Ullmark said. “There’s a high-skill team on the other side. We’re just going to have to refocus on the next one. It’s just one game.”
Marner, who has been criticized for his postseason play in the past, had a goal and two assists in the opener.
“Just to start off with a win is great, but we have to look forward to the next one,” Marner said. “It’s going to be even harder to win the next one and we are going to look to figure out how we can even be a little better Tuesday.”
–Field Level Media
