In just a few hours, the attention will turn away from previews, hype videos, head-to-head stats, and the focus will shift to the ice.
With a series of playoff hockey under their belts, the Ottawa Senators will be expecting — and better prepared for — what lies ahead when they step onto the ice in Raleigh, N.C., just after 3 p.m. this afternoon.
“We achieved one goal of ours, now we have the opportunity to set the stage for another,” said Brady Tkachuk. “I know my focus, my team’s focus is nothing past Game 1 to the first TV timeout.”
Ottawa will be looking for a better start than last year’s postseason, when they dropped the first three games of Round 1 to Toronto before coming back and taking the series to six games. Some keys to that are being disciplined and not letting the moment be too big for the job.
“I think it’s just knowing more what to expect, we went through it once, we played in the first round against probably our biggest rival last year,” said Thomas Chabot about how this time around feels different.
“I mean obviously, I think the first game we gave up four [power play] goals, obviously you never want that to happen no matter the circumstances, but also we took too many penalties,” said Tim Stützle.
“Carolina has a good power play as well, we’ve got to find a way to play hard but also stay out of the box, and we kind of preached it all season long that that’s we want to play, and I think our penalty kill has gotten tremendously better, but it’s going to face a huge challenge against a good Carolina team.”
Entering that series, the Sens had 12 regulars who were getting their first taste of playoff hockey. This time around, it’s the complete opposite, with at least last year’s six games populating almost every player’s resume.
“I think throughout this playoff series, obviously throughout a long series as well, there’s going to be periods you don’t like, shifts you don’t like, but it’s the way you get out of those shifts and the way you come back in the next period,” said Stützle.
“I think that’s going to be a really big factor for us, just kind of focusing on what we have to do, and playing our way, playing the style we want to play, and I think then it’s going to be really exciting for us.”
Stützle, Tkachuk, Chabot, and Jake Sanderson were all out of the lineup for the final two regular season games, helping each of them get closer to full health for Game 1.
“I mean, obviously it’s been a long year, lots of games, yeah, it was good, I think the other guys getting in the lineup did a great job, kind of like all season long,” said Stützle. “I think it was good for me to get a little bit of rest, but also really excited to get back, it feels like forever since I’ve played, so very excited for that.”
The reset — both physical and mental — comes at the perfect time, because as Stützle sees it, everything that’s come before now is essentially wiped clean.
“Playoffs is kind of like a new season, by itself,” said Stützle. “I feel like the best 16 teams in the league, every team you face is going to be a good team, it’s going to be a good matchup, so for us, it’s just, like I said, if we play the way we want to play, that gives us momentum, and that gives us the confidence we have in our team’s play, and that’s going to be really important for us the way we finish the season.”
