by Kat

New York Rangers (4) – Ottawa Senators (2)

(Photo: The Star)

The Ottawa Senators might be the lovable upstarts in this year’s playoffs, but a rude awakening awaited them at Madison Square Garden Thursday night. Despite the Senators dominance of the Rangers during the regular season – goalie Craig Anderson had a perfect record at MSG – there was little carryover on this night, with the Rangers leading 4-0 three minutes into the third period. While the Senators eventually managed to muster two goals on Henrik Lundqvist later in the third, it was too little too late. Rangers captain Ryan Callahan had the Garden crowd serenading his name, as he laid hard hits on Ottawa’s Jesse Winchester and Matt Gilroy late in the first period soon after scoring the game’s first goal.
It may only be Game 1, but the Senators will have to muster a much better effort Saturday night if they have any hope of staying in this series. The two teams play tomorrow at Madison Square Garden before shifting playoff hockey returns to Ottawa for Games 3 and 4. (more…)