For sure, the prospect of taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference second-round series against the Rangers is positively tantalizing for the Senators.
But that, they insist, is not their focus.
To a man, the Senators conceded after an hour-long practice at the Garden on Monday that they got away with one Saturday night in the form of their soul-crushing 6-5 win in Ottawa, where the Rangers squandered three two-goal leads, including a 5-3 advantage with inside of four minutes remaining in regulation.
The Senators are expecting a desperate onslaught from the Rangers, who are down 2-0 in the series, when the teams meet in Game 3 on Tuesday night at the Garden.
“We have to move on from [Saturday], because they played better than we did,’’ Ottawa star defenseman Erik Karlsson said Monday. “We found a way win the game, but I don’t think that was a game that we’re very proud of or something that we feel like we have to do to be successful.
“We know that if we want to have a chance to play with them then we’re going to have to be a lot better than we were in Game 1 and 2. We’re really happy with the end result of the last game, but it’s not something that we want to bring with us moving into [Tuesday’s] game.
“I feel like we snuck one away, and it’s going to be a totally different game [Tuesday]. They’re a veteran group. They’ve been in this position before. They know how deal with all this adversity that’s been thrown at them and they’re going to have their best game [Tuesday].”
Ottawa coach Guy Boucher all but admonished himself Monday for a Saturday game plan that was not structured strongly enough to counteract the Rangers’ strength, which is their transition game and speed.
Boucher, who was very active game-planning with his players during Monday’s practice, stopping the session three times to go over plays on a wax board, knows exactly which Rangers team will take the Garden ice Tuesday night.
“We expect their very, very best,’’ he said. “We’re expecting the fans to be wild, and expecting them to bring their A-plus game. They have 1,000 games of experience in the playoffs [on their roster], which is more than double what we’ve got. Over the span of games they’ve played, they’ve displayed resiliency and ability to bounce back.
“One thing is for sure, we can’t give them the space we gave them [in Game 2], because they’re going to come out with fire.
“If you look at their Montreal series, they showed just that when they looked like they were in trouble [down 2-1 at home after a Game 3 loss] they came out with a big game. We’re expecting exactly that. If we are like we were last game, it won’t be good enough. If we are like we were the first game, it’ll be a tight fight.”
Boucher described Monday’s practice as “an emotional reload after the last game.’’
“They’re a very good transition team and what we didn’t do very well with that,’’ he said. “Our transition from our offense to our defense was not good at all. We do enough against what is their strength, which is transition and taking off with speed, so we gave them way too many scoring chances. We want to make sure we’re better with that [Tuesday].’’
If there’s one player on the Senators who best knows the players in the other dressing room, it is Derick Brassard, who played the last four seasons with the Rangers before joining Ottawa.
“I expect their best game, and we’re going to have to match it,’’ Brassard said. “There’s a lot of character in that room, really good leadership, and it starts from their coach [Alain Vigneault]. We have to expect their best game. I think the first 10 minutes is really important.’’