MURAL THIS

PENGUINS 4

SENATORS 1

A lot was made about the mural plastered outside the visitors' locker room in Ottawa, one which illustrates the Senators escorting the Penguins out of the 2006-07 playoffs. Sure, it was posted before the Senators knew they were playing the flightless birds in round one. But universally, it was recognized as a pretty classless act, if for no other reason than the non-attempt to cover it up as a courtesy to their first-round opponent.

So the mural stayed, much to the chagrin of Penguin Nation. It was extra motivation for a team that already had plenty of reasons to despise their opponent. Was that the little mental boost that the Penguins needed in a tough road playoff game? We'll never know, but there's one thing we can say with a great deal of certainty: the Ottawa Senators are teetering on the cliff of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Sens got Daniel Alfredsson back (to a standing ovation), which was definitely a motivational tool. The crowd was behind the team, the house was a-rockin', and the Penguins (especially Marc-Andre Fleury, who's quietly having a great playoff run) withstood just about everything Ottawa threw at them.

After a scoreless first period, Ottawa drew first blood with a Nick Foligno goal 1:11 into the second. The Pens answered about five minutes later, as Maxime "Superstar" Talbot scored to tie everything up at one. As the clock ticked to zero, there would be just 20 minutes left to decide this one. But the Penguins needed just 12 seconds to officially put this out of reach, as Sidney Crosby put one by Martin Gerber for what would be the deciding goal. A little more than a minute later, Jordan Staal tacked on the Penguins' third goal of the evening, and at 11:05, the self-destructing Senators allowed goal number four, Marian Hossa's first playoff goal as a Penguin. 4-1, Pens win, Pens win. See ya Wednesday night; don't forget to bring your brooms to Ottawa.

Notes:

--Gary Roberts did not play due to a groin injury, and was spotted in a hockey celebrity-filled luxury box on his Blackberry.

--Trib wrapup and nice photo gallery here

--Ottawa Sun recap here

--The Pens outshot the Sens, 38-34.

--Marian Hossa was FSN's Player of the Game for his one goal, two assist performance.

--The Russian Syklone Line combined for one point, a Ryan Malone assist.

--When the Penguins grab a 3-0 series lead, they are 6-1. They blew a 3-0 lead in 1975 against the Islanders, one of only two times that such a comeback has ever happened.

--The PG's excellent Empty Netters wondered if this Pirate ad was worthy of 1/4 of the screen. The answer is an emphatic NO.

--Game Four goes down Wednesday night at Ottawa. The puck drops at 7, the Senators drop a few hours later.

Koz: Know Your Ottawa Senators

by Koz

koz81@comcast.net

I’m not going to use this space to make any playoff predictions. First of all, I’m too biased; there’s no way I wouldn’t pick the Pens. Secondly, if things go poorly, I don’t want that on my conscience.

Instead, I’m going to familiarize you with the Penguins’ opponent, the Ottawa Senators. Since the Pens are going to play anywhere between four and seven games in a row against them, you might as well be informed.

The Sens are making their eleventh straight playoff appearance. Last year, was the first time they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Of course, they lost to the Ducks, making the Senators the third Canadian team in a row to lose in the Finals.

The Senators entered this season as the Eastern Conference favorite and seemed to back that up with a 15-2 start to the season.

Fast forward to April – the Sens’ captain is injured and will miss the series. They’ve fired their coach, benched their goaltender because he’s more unstable than Britney Spears, and clawed their way into the playoffs during the last week of the season.

Motivation: Bryan Murray, the GM and interim coach, is claiming the Penguins all but forfeited their final regular season game to guarantee a matchup with the limping Senators. Hey, whatever you need to jumpstart your listless club, buddy.

Leading Scorer: Jason Spezza with 92 points in 76 games. Daniel Alfredsson follows him, but is injured because of this thundering hit by Mark Bell, whom you may recall from his DUI suspension and facial fractures courtesy of our own Ryan Malone.

Public Enemy #1: Chris Neil (199 penalty minutes in 68 games). I’m sure Ruutu and Laraque will be all over him.

Goaltender: The playoffs require outstanding goaltending. Pens fans will remember it was Ray Emery who backstopped the Senators during their playoff run last season. Well, Emery has gone loco, become a team cancer, and only played in one game since March 1. Martin Gerber will be the starter. Gerber’s last playoff appearance was with the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes, but don’t panic. Gerber started the playoffs and Canes promptly lost the first two games. He was replaced by eventual playoff MVP Cam Ward. To say that goaltending is a question mark for the Senators would be a huge understatement.

Ottawa is definitely a dangerous team with experience and talent. The Penguins must take advantage of their home ice advantage to get out to a quick series lead and stop the Senators from gaining any momentum. If you’ve got tickets to Games One or Two, you better be loud… and please don’t boo the Canadian Anthem. For some reason this has become a hockey playoff tradition in American/Canadian matchups. It’s classless, especially considering our franchise’s two icons are both Canadian. Have fun, be loud, but be respectful. Let’s Go Pens!