Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

[Alfie11]

- BIGGEST game of the season! With a win, the Sens are three points back of Boston with a game in hand, the best position they've been in lately. With a loss, the Sens fall back to being seven points out and their playoff chances take a huge hit.

- Cameron has said Anderson will be starting for the Sens. Andy is 1-0-0 against the Bruins this season, and allowed two goals on 30 shots in the win. Rask has allowed seven goals in the three meeting between Boston and Ottawa this season, putting up a 1-0-2 record.

- Ottawa has the season series advantage, although both teams have picked up four points against each other this year. Zibanejad has two goals against Boston this year, and Bobby Ryan has an overtime goal and a shootout winner.

[Alfie11]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

I really disagree with giving Anderson the start over Hammond. We have a goalie who's playing extremely hot right now - 7-0-1 with a .954SV% and a 1.43GAA...and he's well rested. Nothing against Anderson, but when you have a goalie playing like that why not start them in the biggest game of the season? This is more than a must-win game if there ever was one.

"Anderson gives the team the best chance at winning" is a statement Cameron said and I also disagree with this. It's hard to deny the team played their best hockey of the season in front of Hammond on the road trip. Hammond played awesome, and the team played extremely confident and gutsy because of it.

Hopefully Anderson proves me wrong. Hammond would have been the logical choice for me, though. If the Sens lose this game, Cameron is definitely going to be getting some pressure from this one.

[thedaigle1]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

As much as I want more Hammond, Ottawa cannot let this game be decided by goaltending. Ottawa has the advantage on offense. If they can match Boston at all defensively, it won't matter whether it's Anderson or Hammond in net.

[Alfie11]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

As much as I want more Hammond, Ottawa cannot let this game be decided by goaltending. Ottawa has the advantage on offense. If they can match Boston at all defensively, it won't matter whether it's Anderson or Hammond in net.

Well, I agree goaltending shouldn't matter, but there's a ton of scenarios when it could matter. Rask has been playing some great hockey lately, and if he puts on a spectacular performance Anderson will have to match it. No offense to Anderson, but at this point, I'd think Hammond would steal a game for us before Anderson would. This exact thing happened twice on the Western road trip in LA and Minnesota. Quick and Dubnyk had great games and Hammond needed to step up and match them and he did better than that. You could also argue that he won us the Jets game, although I'm not sure I'd go that far as we gave him three or four goals.

[thedaigle1]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

I'd argue that he stole the Jets game for sure.

Puempel is staying in the lineup. Cowen/Boro seems to be up in the air.

[Jasmine]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

After 2 periods, its 3-0 Bruins.. :( Sens dominated a good part of the 2nd period, they got 3 posts..a few great chances...but nothing to show for. Gotta give Rask credit, he made great saves at the right time.

[Jasmine]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

Puempel, with his 1st NHL goal, gets the Sens on the board - 11mins left in 3rd

[Jasmine]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

:(

[Josh]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

Of all the teams to come back down to earth against.. :(

Does somewhere count how many posts are hit per team in a season? Ottawa must be setting a record this year..

[Matt the Aussie]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

It's hard to be disappointed in how Ottawa played that game. They just didn't convert on a hot goalie. Boston had 4-5 good chances and 3 of them ended up in our net. It wasn't Andy's fault, and I don't think Hammond would have done any better.

That period of about 10 minutes after Boston scored their first, we could have gone up 4-1.

[thedaigle1]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

[Josh]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

This explains my feelings perfectly.

[Alfie11]

Re: Game 65: Bruins @ Senators, 7:30pm

Yeah, it's impossible to say Hammond in would have resulted in a different outcome. Anderson had a solid game. The team had a rough first period and a good second and third. Boston capitalized on their chances while Ottawa didn't. It seems like it just came down to experience. The Bruins have a lot more veterans with big game experiences, while the Sens have a lot of rookies who haven't really had to face this kind of adversity that much.

Unfortunately for Ottawa this is a massive blow to any playoff hopes. It was a good run, hopefully they can keep up the winning but it's certainly out of their hands now. They're going to have to rely on Boston losing, and the Bruins seem to be heating up.