-The Sens open up their playoff series with Montreal tonight, following lacklustre openers elsewhere in the NHL. One note of interest is the officiating: Dan O’Rourke will be calling tonight’s game. O’Rourke (for those who’ve forgotten) is infamous for claiming that Karlsson embellishes to draw penalties. However upset fans are by his selection, I can assure you that whoever was calling the game there were going to be frustrations, so O’Rourke is simply the name making the mistakes tonight.
-Jason York (on The Team 1200) made an interesting point on the debate about dressing Eric Gryba and Patrick Wiercioch: the former is likely getting the nod in order to allow Chris Phillips to play the left side on the third pairing. At least for tonight’s game, however, the point is moot as Phillips will play with Gonchar and Gryba with Cowen.
–Worsteverything offers his extended preview of the series.
–Stephan Cooper tries to break down the Sens forward lines by how they perform 5-on-5, but unfortunately it’s a bit lacking in places (Silfverberg-Zibanejad-Latendresse have rarely played together, but are assessed as if they have, while for some reason Conacher-Pageau-Condra isn’t given the same statistical breakdown that the other lines are; he also doesn’t look at who is trending in which direction). That being said, his conclusion that the Sens will struggle to score is the same one we’ve all come too.
–Jonathan Bernier looks at the Sens and Habs grit and toughness.
–Nichols expresses his hopes for Eugene Melnyk now that he’s on Twitter.
-Binghamton must win tonight to keep their playoff hopes alive. If Stefan Noesen is inserted into the lineup, someone like Wacey Hamilton will be scratched.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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