Defenseman Marc Methot, whose first goal of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs got Ottawa within 3-2 at 14:00 of the second period, said the game showed what the Senators have been about all season. They also showed it in the first round, when they rallied from down two goals in the third period against Boston in Game 2 to win 4-3 when Dion Phaneuf scored early in the first overtime.
"You're always going to have a little doubt maybe kind of creep in a little bit, but at the same time, you counter that with the fact we've done this before," Methot said. "I know that we've had comebacks throughout the season where we just seemed to have those clutch plays at the end of games to get us back into it. Sure enough, you get that fourth goal, you know there's a little life, you start buzzing a little more around their net and you get the fifth, and then it's anybody's game.
"A lot of people were counting us out, a lot of people didn't think we'd even make the postseason, and here we are in the second round and we're winning some games."
Methot said the Senators aren't expecting anything but the Rangers' best in Game 3 on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).
"We're playing a serious hockey team here," Methot said. "We know how hard it is to play in MSG and they have unbelievable fans. You've got a veteran group over there that I'm pretty sure won't back down and won't give up. We've got to treat this like this series is still 0-0 and keep a very level head about it."