Ottawa Senators advance to Round 2 of NHL Playoffs







The Ottawa Senators successfully knocked off the second seeded Montreal Canadiens from Stanley Cup contention, at the Bell Centre in downtown Montreal last Thursday. The Senators won this hard fought and controversial series with a commanding 4-1 series victory.

The final game of the series, Game 5, marked the second time the Ottawa Senators beat the Habs in a blowout fashion, as they won Thursday night’s game 6-1.

Senator’s goaltender, Craig Anderson, had yet another spectacular performance, allowing just one goal on 34 shots. In contrast, rookie goalie Peter Budaj, who had an impressive 8-1-1 record during the season, looked shaky and uncomfortable between the pipes allowing 6 goals on 29 shots.

“I felt good in the morning skate. I prepared well, and the best I could” Budaj said.  “Obviously the result is very disappointing, that’s how it goes sometimes. You prepare well, but things just don’t go your way and today was one of those nights.”

Budaj’s only regulation season loss was a 5-1 loss to the Senators on January 30th

The Habs early exit from the playoffs marks a disappointing end to what has been a phenomenal season for them, finishing second place in the conference and winning their division. This was in stark contrast to their previous season, where they finished last place in the Eastern Conference.

“We’ve always believed since day one, that we have a great system and that we would make the playoffs. The result was that we won the division,” said Habs forward Alex Galchenyuk. “But it’s tough to lose a game like that, because we worked all year for this, and we battled and focused and were ready, but it just didn’t go our way.”

The Senators, who were the underdogs in this series, have successfully advanced to second round of the NHL playoffs for this first time since their Stanley Cup run in 2007.

“This is one of the sweetest moments of my career,” Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. “To be able to play a historic team like Montreal, in this building is pretty special and to come out on top makes it even better. It’s a great feeling.” 

The Senators move on to play Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 2 that beat the New York Islanders.


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