With their backs against the wall, and playing a home afternoon playoff game for the first time since May 6, 2017, the Ottawa Senators will be fighting for their season on Saturday afternoon in Game 4.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Travis Green gave no indication of what his lineup would look when the puck drops just after 3 p.m.
For whoever will be in, though, the task will be the same as Game 4 last year, when the Senators took down the Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime.
“It’s a nice story, but you don’t want to be in those spots, first of all, not happy that we’re in this spot, but that’s where we’re at, and it’s about winning one game,” said Green.
The theme of not looking past Game 4 despite the series deficit was echoed by Senators players on Friday when speaking to the media.
To come out on top in Game 4 during a series where the margins have been so slim, the 0-for-12 power play has been pointed to as an area for improvement. On Saturday, Green also said the Sens need to be more positionally sound at even-strength.
“I think we’ve been running a little bit to be physical at times, running out of position. Also, playing with a lot of energy, we’ve kind of got away from just the simple stopping and starting at certain points of the game,” said Green.
“This series is so tight, and you can’t push just to score. You’ve got to hit a lot of singles and just keep hitting singles. Eventually it’ll add up to a run. There’s not going to be a lot of home run plays. And if you play on the move or you try to create home run plays it can shoot you in the foot.
“We’ve talked a lot about just the little things, never mind our overall structure, but changes, shift lengths, blocked shots, faceoffs, edge battles, all those things add up in this type of series. And you’ve got to stay mentally focused from shift to shift. I don’t believe our group’s going to be tight today, I’d hope they’re not, I want them to play with confidence, knowing our game works, but we’re going to have to have a certain desperation in our game.
“There’s certain games that you want to win, and there’s certain games you need to win. And we need to play like we need it tonight.”
