Sens vs. Rangers - Game #5 Preview

The series shifts back to Ottawa on Saturday as the Sens and Rangers gear up for Game #5 at Canadian Tire Centre.

The Sens saw a few different players exit Thursday's game in New York but the most concerning was captain Erik Karlsson who failed to return to the game after the second intermission. When asked after the game, Sens head coach Guy Boucher shared that it was more of a precautionary move.
"We felt it was better to keep him out after the second period," Boucher told the media during his post-game availability on Thursday night. "He could have come back but he has a lower-body injury."
The injury doesn't appear to put Karlsson's status for Saturday's game in jeopardy as Boucher responded to inquiries about concerns for his captain's availability with a simple: "Not for now."

Game #5 marks the team's fourth afternoon game of the post-season. The Senators have gone 3-0 in all of their previous 3 p.m. starts with their most recent being their double overtime win in Game #2 last Saturday.

Previous game

Thursday's game in New York wasn't filled with positives for the Senators and they dropped their second consecutive 4-1 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Kyle Turris provided the lone goal in defeat but beyond his contribution the Sens weren't much of a threat offensively in either game in New York. Mike Condon replaced Craig Anderson in goal for the final period but Boucher immediately squashed any rumours of a goaltending change for Game #5 and sited "rest" as the reason for the substitution once the game was out of reach.
Not sure I'd recommend it but here are the full highlights from Game #4...

Sens to watch

It's been this way for the past three games but Jean-Gabriel Pageau continues to be the standout forward up front for the Senators. Even in Thursday's 4-1 defeat he led all forwards in TOI (19:13), shots (4), hits (4) and blocks (3) and has been a big part of the Sens successfully killing off penalties at an 88.2% rate in the second round. Pageau is also clicking at a 58.2% face-off win percentage in the series.
We mentioned Turris' goal in Game #4 above but he's been an absolute workhorse for the Sens down the middle in Round 2. He trails only Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf in TOI and TOI/GP for forwards in the second round and has logged 88:10 of ice-time in this series so far (for an average of 22:02 per game). His 3 points (1G + 2A) place him second in team scoring against the Rangers behind only the red hot Pageau.

Red Zone

The weather may look a little dicey for Saturday but that's why we've got that huge tent in the Red Zone to party in before the game. Things are set to kick off at noon so if you're coming to the game be sure to get here early to take in some of the pre-game activities.
Click here
for more details about the Red Zone.

Broadcast

Can't make it to CTC today? Catch all the action on CBC and TVAS or if you are in need of a great spot to watch the game with other rabid Sens fans check out our list of official Sens Army Headquarters for the playoffs
here
.