Ottawa head coach Guy Boucher couldn't help but feel like the Senators let an opportunity slip away as the Boston Bruins took Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final series 2-1 on Wednesday night.
However, the Bruins - as they have for much of Bruce Cassidy's brief tenure - were able to dig deep and find a way to win, scoring two third-period goals en route to a 2-1 win over the Senators in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series.
For the Senators, goalie Craig Anderson will be a key factor in shutting down the offensive side of the Bruins, specifically trying to contain veterans like Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Backes.
Wednesday's Game 1 between the Bruins and Senators lived up to its billing. It's hard to picture the last time that an actual teenage defenseman stepped into the fire of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (with zero games of prior National Hockey League experience) and played such a major role in his team's victory, simply because it just doesn't happen all that often.
After a strong second period, Ottawa was hoping to add to the lead early in the third. The goal was just the second even-strength goal the Black and Gold netted vs. the Senators this year after going 0-3-1 during the regular season.
Terrific Tuukka: Goaltender Tuukka Rask continued his stellar play of the last few weeks by stopping 26 shots, holding the fort when his defense collapsed in front of him on a few occasions.
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"I don't think we've been outplayed by them", Miller said.
"I think definitely (improvements are needed) in the way we take care of the puck", Marchand said Friday.
I would hazard to guess that if there's one systems or deployment change Boucher makes for Game 2, it'll be here.
"They didn't give us a whole lot", Marchand said. With the potential of a makeshift defensive unit protecting him for multiple games, performing at a similarly elite level to what he's done in his previous 34 playoff contests (21 wins, a 1.92 GAA) is a must for the Finnish netminder. Superstar Erik Karlsson is day-to-day with a foot injury and will most likely be ready to go for game one in Ottawa. But it seems that until tonight's warmup is over, we won't know who's playing for sure.
Wherever McAvoy lines up in the Bruins' lineup Wednesday, he's expected to simply play his game. They see these young, youthful guys who have no fear when the puck drops, and it's only going to make them more energetic. With an already depleted blue-line the Bruins can hardly afford to lose another defenceman. Other injured Bruins included defensemen Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo, neither of whom accompanied the team to Ottawa, and center Noel Acciari.
It was at last year's development camp that Bruins assistant coach Jay Pandolfo said that Charlie McAvoy was a defenseman that could be trusted for a solid 25 minutes every night.
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