Ottawa Senators

Game Day: Senators @ Rangers - get ready for the blender
May 4, 2017, 10:24 AM ET [14 Comments]
Jared Crozier
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If you thought Guy Boucher tinkered with the lines too much during games before, if early reports are true, as the saying goes - "you ain't seen nothin' yet".

Word is that Zack Smith will not be able to go after leaving Tuesday's game with an upper body injury, meaning that unless Boucher goes deep and brings in Chris Kelly or Colin White, then the Senators will be going with essentially 3 centres. Tom Pyatt will play, likely in place of Smith assuming the unconfirmed reports are true, otherwise it would be Ryan Dzingel or Tommy Wingels coming out in place of the coach-favorite Pyatt.

If it is Pyatt replacing Smith, it would probably be Dzingel listed as the fourth line centre, but he hasn't played much in the middle at all this season and given his struggles he won't likely do so tonight.

Bobby Ryan, who also left the game after being hit by teammate Erik Karlsson's point blast in the third period, is expected to play, which is good news for the Senators.

On the blue line, expect Chris Wideman to get a chance to get his lineup spot back, likely in place of Ben Harpur. Wideman was pulled out of the lineup in the Boston series ahead of game 6 after struggling in games 4 and 5 of the Boston series. Ottawa won their next 3 and Boucher didn't want to mess with a winning lineup so Wideman should be fresh and chomping at the bit. (UPDATE: It will be Freddie Claesson, not Ben Harpur coming out and Wideman going in, with Smith still a game time decision)

Alternatively, Dzingel could come out and they could leave Harpur in and go with seven defensemen, a stategy Boucher has used in the past, and even at certain points this season, but not as much as might have been expected.

Whatever shape the lineup takes, the Senators need a better effort to a man, from the goaltending on out, than they got on Tuesday, otherwise the series will be going back to Ottawa on Saturday all squared up and become a best of 3.

I didn't see every game of the Montreal-Rangers first round series, but I would bet they didn't put up a performance as solid and consistent as they did in game 3 against the Senators, and Ottawa probably hasn't played a worse game, both with their own miscues and allowing the opposition to set the pace for a vast majority of the game. The Rangers will try to come out with the same storm, and the Senator need to weather that storm better than they did in game 3 and get out of the first period without damage done. If they can do some damage of their own, that would be a welcome bonus.

I have said before that game 4 is the most important one in any series, and that rings true for this one because it will either become a best of three or the Senators will be in the driver's seat with three chances to dispatch the Rangers.