I said yesterday that the Senators absolutely needed to take Game 1 of the series. I guess the players agreed.



What worked

After a brief period of adjustment to the speed of the game, the Sens really took the game to the offensive zone. As anticipated, the third line of Jarkko Ruutu, Chris Neil, and Chris Kelly caused some major headaches for the Penguins. The trio was good for three goals on seven shots on goal. And they got it done by down and dirty (sometimes very dirty) work and sheer determination. If the Sens are going to take down the Pens, this is the way to do it. Ruutu specifically was amazing, playing smart and determined hockey, while doing what he does best: getting under the opposition's skin and causing them to make errors.

I really liked the contribution across the entire team, especially the defensive play of the forwards and the offensive play of the defense. Erik Karlsson, and to a lesser extent, Chris Campoli contributed to the offense. Overall, the Senators played every weapon they had, and managed to find the back of the net more often than a superbly talented Penguins offense. The Senators also made the most of any Penguin error and made them pay for most of their penalties, scoring twice on four opportunities. The PK allowed two goals on six opportunities which, considering the players on the Pens power play, is pretty good.

The Senators' transition game is what cost the Penguins so much. It didn't seem that their defense was ready for it. Whereas the Senators were very conscious of the world of hurt that could be administered by the Penguins offensively. They therefore played a complete defensive game. And the Senators checked, hard and often. Heck, even Jason Spezza checked.

What needs more work

Let's call a spade a spade: even though he registered his first playoff win, Brian Elliott was not up to speed last night. I'm sure it was nerves and wanting to mind the net too much, but I found Elliott was once again too deep in his crease, which allowed too much room on the short side, never mind the far side. He paid for it big time. Of the four Penguins goals, there are two that Elliott should have had. As much as the Senators have learned to play with confidence with Elliott backstopping them, Elliott has to learn to have confidence that his defensemen are covering what needs to be covered. Elliott doesn't need to stop 100 percoent of all shots. Stopping 95 percent will put him up with the elite.

The Senators also took too many penalties. Especially Peter Regin who collected no less than three of them. Two of those penalties cost the Senators a goal each. That's too expensive. It's a good thing Regin got on the scoresheet as the penalties could have limited his skating time in further games. Six penalties against the Penguins is too much. Yes, you have to play with heart, but not too much heat.