Senators force Game 7 after defeating Penguins 2-1

Country music or a country place for the summer.

As a veteran, MacArthur realized the Senators best chance was to stay away from the wide-open game that got them in so much trouble in Sunday’s 7-0 Game 5 defeat. “It’s forget it, move on and we did that and now we have to forget last night too”. The Senators are big underdogs at plus-1,200.

“There’s no pressure on us”. He recorded the team’s first goal in Game 6, and now has six goals and nine assists in 18 games this postseason. “We just have to focus on what we have to do”. “It is one game at a time, but we know our next win puts us in contention for the Stanley Cup“.

Crosby and Methot do have some history that likely influenced Hoffman to give the Penguins captain a late-game shower.

“This one would have a lot of Sid’s fingerprints, of him willing his team to a Stanley Cup and winning again – if he did do it”, Bylsma said. “If we don’t trust it now, there’s not a whole lot of hope for us”. “How do you think that after you lose 7-0?” If the Penguins can continue to do this in game six we should be in a great position to get the victory.

The plan is pretty simple for Ottawa.

It wasn’t to work with a game-changer like Erik Karlsson.

“We have to play the same way”, coach Guy Boucher said.

There exists the possibility that no matter what the Senators do, it may not be enough to stop a Penguins team that appears to be operating on all cylinders.

“They’re all must-win games since Day 1”, Boucher said. He has Game 7 experience, he can win face-offs, he can kill penalties, he can centre the fourth line. That said, when given the opportunity the Penguins must play heavy on him. So we’re playing good hockey teams, and these guys, they’re playing with their backs against the wall.

The performance was all the more impressive in light of Ottawa’s 7-0 loss just two days earlier.

Sidney Crosby took an early whack to the face from Senators forward Mark Stone that went unpenalized.

Maybe the embarrassment of the loss was what Ottawa needed.

Also, the Sens played half the season without No. 1 goalie Craig Anderson, who was with his wife as she battled a rare form of cancer. They simply could not have been worse.

“I just really think you have to enjoy it”.

The Penguins were really able to bring the offence early in game five. “That’s what we did (Tuesday)”. The Senators had four power play opportunities in that game, one at 19:23 of the third period – which became a 6-on-4 for the Senators in a 3-2 game.

Claesson skated deep into the Penguins zone, dropped the puck to Mike Hoffman drove to the net to create the screen.

They’re stressing going back to the defensive alignments that got them this far in game 6 to try and stave off elimination. We were coming out here and we were going to win and we did that.

The victor of Thursday’s series-deciding game will meet the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Final. “We can’t ask for anything better but we just have to have fun with that”. Surely, they know this after losing by seven goals the last time they were in Pittsburgh. “If you believe that you can win, there’s always a chance”.

“Anderson had a big night”.

How will you be watching the game? “You do everything you possibly can to prepare yourself for the game, and then just leave it all out there”. He finished the game with 45 save on 46 shots, which is his highest single-game save total since recording 45 on April 8, 2014.

Take a quick look through Anderson’s playoff brilliance and you get the idea. I feel it’s been that way for most of the year and playoffs. Corey Anderson didn’t last long, giving up four goals on 14 shots.

“He’s the same old Andy”.

“He had our backs all night”, Sens forward Zack Smith said.

Through 17 playoff games, Craig Anderson had been good. The relentlessly positive Anderson said nights like Game 6 reaffirmed the things he read in visualization books or learned from his sports psychologist.

“You need to be a little bit lucky to be good at times“.

Cullen isn’t denying that these games are different. The guy in front, might have been Stone, skated right in front right at the release point so I was late picking it up, but he puts a flawless shot going post and in.