Game 1 Recap

Game one ended much like game one in the opening round. The Penguins dismantled the Senators in almost every facet of the game.  Pittsburgh won the game going away, 4-1. It was a very well-rounded game by the Penguins. To go along with the four goals the Penguins managed 40 hits, and 18 blocked shots. That is a scary thing to see considering few NHL teams are going to be able to contend with a game like that.  Despite being out shot in game one Pittsburgh had little trouble defeating the Senators. Ottawa seemed to be in shock after the first goal of the game. Only two minutes and forty-one seconds into the first period the Sens gave up a Power Play goal to Paul Martin. Ottawa was able to tie the game at one on a Colin Greening wrist shot. That would be the last time Ottawa would light the lamp in-game one. Evgeni Malkin scored what turned out to be the game winning goal at 12:15 in the first.

Other Goal Scorers

PIT, Chris Kunitz PPG, Pascal Dupuis SHG

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2 Recap

Game two ended the same way game one did, with a Penguins victory. Giving the Penguins a 2-0 series lead. This game was won by Sidney Crosby. Crosby went “beast mode”, and netted his 2nd career playoff hat-trick. Crosby opened the scoring only three minutes and sixteen seconds into the opening period. The Senators responded about ten minutes later. Kyle Turris scored on the power play.  Just three minutes later Crosby put the Penguins back up by one to close out the first period scoring. The first period saw the Penguins out shot the Senators 18 to 7. The defensive Senators didn’t show much ability to put the puck on net. The 2nd period looked just like the first in almost every way. Pittsburgh opened the scoring early, just one minute and fifteen seconds in; Crosby scored on the power play. As they did in the first period Ottawa answered quickly. Just forty seconds later Greening beat Tomas Vokoun with a wrist shot. Brenden Morrow put Pittsburgh up 4-2 on a tip-in goal ending the second period scoring. Yet again the Pens out shot the Sens 15-8. The third period saw the Pens take their foot of the gas a little bit only managing 9 shots, sadly for the Senators they were unable to take advantage , and only scored one goal Jean-Gabriel Pageau netted his fourth goal of the playoffs to bring the score to it final resting place 4-3.

Other Game 2 stats

Hits: Pittsburgh 21, Ottawa 41

Blocked Shots: Pittsburgh 20, Ottawa 8

Prediction

If the Senators can not find there game this series will not make it past game four. The Penguins have found their game, and are seemingly having little trouble with the Senators defensive, hard-hitting style. When this series started  I had the Senators winning it in 7. I don’t see this series ending in a sweep, but  I also do not see the Senators winning it. Pittsburgh is just too good. Pens in 5.

2013 GM of the Year Finalists (L to R) Bergevin, Murray, Shero; Mandatory Credit: USATSI/Getty Images

Marc Bergevin is in his first season as the GM in Montreal, having arrived on the scene just twelve months ago.  Upon inheriting a team that finished dead-last in the Eastern Conference, Bergevin raised some eyebrows in hiring Michel Therrien as his head coach.  All the new GM and coach did was turn that 15^th-seeded squad into the second seed this season, winning their first Northeast Division crown since 2008.  Despite many scouts questioning how Alex Galchenyuk would respond to a major knee injury in his draft year, Bergevin went with his gut and drafted the talented American forward with the third-overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, thus far a good move on his part.

Bob Murray, in his fifth season as the architect of the Anaheim Ducks, certainly had a busy season.  As a yearly summer exercise in Southern California, Murray was forced to convince future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne to put off retirement and return to the Quack Pack.  Murray also upgraded his defense and goaltending by bringing in Sheldon Souray and Viktor Fasth, respectively.  Fasth may have been the discovery of the year, as the 30-year-old goaltender seemingly came out of nowhere to provide Anaheim with two quality netminders.  In his first “full” (see: shortened) season behind the bench, Murray’s hire of Bruce Boudreau has been another good hiring.  However, Murray’s magic this season can best be revealed in his re-signings of both of Anaheim’s franchise forwards, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.  People wondered which of the two, if not both, Murray would be forced to trade during the season or see walk away at the end of it.  Instead, Murray extended both of them and saw his team bounce back from 13^th in the Western Conference the previous season to the second seed this time around, running away with the Pacific Division.

Ray Shero is seemingly in consideration for the GM of the Year Award every year, and this year is no exception.  The seventh-year GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins got the wheeling-and-dealing started right on draft day, making a move that would satisfy both the future and the present by acquiring one of the league’s better third line centers in Brandon Sutter for Jordan Staal, who was in the last year of his contract.  In another offseason move that is really paying dividends right now, Shero acquired goaltender Tomas Vokoun.  Shero’s roster impressed all season long, barely skipping a beat while sustaining injuries to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.  Without surrendering a single player off of his current roster, Shero made moves in-and-around the NHL Trade Deadline to bring in Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, Jussi Jokinen, and Douglas Murray.  The Pens won the Atlantic Division and finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Per NHL.com, the General Manager of the Year Award is “an annual award presented to recognize the work of the league’s general managers” and is voted on by “the 30 club general managers and a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media.”  My choice for this season’s award is Bob Murray.  Bergevin’s major blemish was the holdout that lasted into the early stages of the season with then-restricted free agent P.K. Subban.  Shero did a fine job this season, though the lure for other players to play alongside Crosby and Malkin seems to take care of a lot of the recruiting itself.  Murray, on the other hand, brought in a gem of a goaltender, hired the right coach, and defied the odds by extending not one, but both of Getzlaf and Perry.  Murray is my pick for the 2013 GM of the Year.

Who do you think deserves to win GM of the Year: one of the three finalists or someone else entirely?  Comment below or tweet me @BostonNumber9 (or my team @TMMotS) to let us know who you feel should win this and any of the other end of season awards.

Feb 13, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Ottawa Senators center Jim O

Round two of the NHL Playoffs starts tonight. A 7:30 pm face-off is set for the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators. The Senators finished the regular season with a record of 25-17-6, that record was good for 7th overall in the Eastern Conference. The Senators earned the right to take on the second seeded Montreal Canadiens in the first round. Ottawa was able to beat the Canadiens in just five games (4-1). Pittsburgh ended the regular season with a record of 36-12-0.  The number one seed Penguins took on the eighth seeded New York Islanders in what turned out to be one of the top series in round one. The Penguins were able to crawl out of round one (4-2). This round two match-up should prove to be classic Playoff series. Pittsburgh beat the Senators three games to none during the regular season, but I’m not sure that this series will go the same way.

The Senators are a defensive team, they do not try to do too much. During the regular season the Sens had a goal differential of +12. The offensive style of the Penguins lead to a goal differential of +46. Pittsburgh had trouble playing the more physical Islanders, and they will be seeing more hard-hitting in your face play from the Senators. In order for the Penguins to move on to round three they will need to solve Craig Anderson. The Ottawa goal tender has been lights out. In a round one series victory Anderson put up MVP type numbers (GAA 1.80 SV% .950). Pittsburgh has the fire power needed to break through and light up the score board, but I am not sure they have the poise to wait for the openings to do it. If they can wait and they get solid goal tending from game one starter Tomas Vokoun  (GAA 1.41 SV% .957) the Pens should be able to go up 1-0 in the series. On the flip side if the Senators are going to continue their run  they will need to keep Pittsburgh’s big guns off the score board. Ottawa will need to use Anderson as a crutch. The Senators will also need timely scoring and a solid special teams effort to foil the Penguins hopes of advancing. If the Senators stay disciplined, and can keep the unnecessary penalties to a minimum they should win game one, and maybe the series.

Inside the Numbers Ottawa Senators  Goal Leader: Kyle Turris 3 Points Leader: Daniel Alfredsson 6 +/-: Daniel Alfredsson +6 Goal Tending: Craig Anderson, 4-1 ,GAA 1.80, SV% .950 PP: 24% 6 goals PK” 84.21% Pittsburgh Penguins Goal Leader: Pascal Dupuis 5 Points Leader: Evgeni Malkin 11 +/-: Paul Martin +5 Goal Tending:  Tomas Vokoun, 2-0, GAA 1.41, SV% .957 Marc-Andre Fleury, 2-2, GAA 3.40, SV% .891 PP: 33.33% 7 goals PK: 90%

This series should come down to which team is able to play their game. If the Senators can sit back and close off the neutral zone, and keep Pittsburgh at bay they should be able to drag out a series win. However if the Penguins play Pens hockey and can skate and find space this series will go to the Penguins.

Prediction: I’m going to go out on a limb, and take the Senators in 7 games. After watching the Penguins have trouble with the Islanders; it seems to me that Ottawa should be able to wear down the battle tested Penguins.

Side Note: Something to think about. As if a playoff series needs more hype; the Senators have a bit of revenge to deal with. On February 13 Matt Cooke took out Senators star Erik Karlsson. The hit tore 70% of  Karlsson’s Achilles tendon . After missing 31 games due to the injury Karlsson showed little rust in round one putting up 6 points ( 1 G, 5 A)