Penguins-Senators: Revenge or Just Ownage?

Tonight’s matchup between the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins will be the second time in the past two seasons these teams have met in the playoffs. Last year the Senators came out flying and completely caught the Penguins off-guard taking the series 4-1. This year the Penguins enter the playoffs with more adversity and more experience under their belt.

The Penguins lost many top players throughout the season who are just recently coming back, but they seem to not have lost a step due to injuries. In Crosby and Fleury’s absences the Penguins proved that they can perform well as Ty Conklin and Malkin stepped up and took over the team. Fleury returned and showed that he is the top goalie with a spectacular performance to close out the regular season. Look for Ty Conklin to come in during the series and take over if Fleury falters at all. Malkin, who finished the season with 106 points, accumulated most of his points while Crosby was out. He really stepped out of shadows and proved he can be an elite player. Therrien shouldn’t allow him to fall back into ease since Crosby is back, so look for Malkin to perform at the same level he did during the second half of the season.

The Ottawa Senators are without Captain Daniel Alfredsson, who sustained an injury in the final two games of the season. The Senators come in a different situation this season as well. The goaltending has been shaky with Martin Gerber now taking the job over Ray Emery who is in the midst of a slump. Senators fans pray that Gerber can do the job because Emery is not the answer. Without Alfredsson the Senators power play should have less success against the Penguins, whose penalty kills seems to be their only weakness. Ottawa still has a chance to be successful with its third line of bashers that can prove to be lethal to the top line of the Penguins.

In the end, look for the Malkin, Sykora, and Malone line to step up to take pressure off the Hossa, Dupius, and Crosby line. If the Penguins can capitalize on power play chances like they have all season and stop the Senators with their penalty kill, they will advance to the second round.

The Penguins will win the series 4-2.