With 30 seconds left the game was tied and the Penguins were left stunned. Instead of capitalizing on their late power play, they tried to play in a lockdown mode to solidify the win and it cost them the game.

Game three proved just how exciting and intense playoff hockey is. As the game advanced to overtime you could sense the tension.

Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone sitting on the edges of their seats watching each goalie make save after save. Both Tomas Vokoun and Craig Anderson put on a goaltending clinic, stoning shooters point black. In the end Anderson got the last save and the Senators now have life in the series.

Before the game I talked about what the Senators needed to do to get back into the series and win game 3. Get better goaltending, score more goals and keep Sidney Crosby off the scoreboard. The Senators managed to accomplish all three of those things and it resulted in a game 3 win.

While they didn’t have an offencive outburst, they did manage to outscore the Penguins. The key to winning a hockey game is to score more goals than your opponent before time runs out, the Senators managed to do that.

Game Notes

• Craig Anderson stopped 49 of 50 shots through 5 periods for the win. He stood tall all night, stopping rush after rush from the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. With Anderson stopping virtually everything he saw, all the Senators had to do was score some goals. While he hadn’t been great through the first two games of the season, he looked stellar tonight. If Anderson plays as well as he did in game 3, there’s no reason the Senators can’t upset the Penguins.
• Aside from exciting hockey the other thing the playoffs are famous for is turning some-what unknown players into heroes. Remember Trevor Lewis and Dwight King from the LA Kings Stanley Cup win? They were virtual nobodies before the Stanley Cup Finals. Last night Colin Greening scored the overtime winner which gave life to the Senators. Greening is a player who has come alive during the playoffs. He’s scored 3 goals in his last 3-playoff games. Greening may not be a star like Kyle Turris or Jason Spezza but when he’s contributing it only helps the Sens.
• Jason Spezza played his first game since January 27th and looked pretty decent. He played just under 19 minutes registering 4 shots and winning 60% of his face-offs. Spezza’s return provided some offencive depth for the Senators and allowed them to play two top lines.
• After the game everyone was upset with the officiating. While no game will ever be officiated perfectly, the referees have not been great through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The call everyone is most upset about is a missed high-stick to the face of Erik Karlsson. Matt Cooke attempted to clear the puck but instead nailed Karlsson right in the face. There was no call on the play and Karlsson was not a happy camper. Should there have been a penalty on the play? Yes, but Erik Karlsson is beginning to get a bad reputation for diving. He was even given a penalty for diving in this game. It’s a shame because Karlsson is a fantastic young defenceman, but the book on him is that he’ll go down pretty easily with minimal contact. If Karlsson wants to get some of those close calls, he’ll need to stop diving, snapping his head back and yelling at the officials.

With game 4 set to go on Wednesday night, the Senators now know they can beat the Penguins and Tomas Vokoun. The Senators have life and fight; we’ll see if they can make the series into a war with a game 4 victory.

Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The Senators have been without their star forward since January 27 when he underwent back surgery. There’s no telling what impact Spezza will have back in the line-up; Will it boost the Senators? Will Spezza contribute on the scoreboard? Either way for a team that needs to win 4 of their next 5 everything helps. Jason Spezza will provide some veteran leadership for the Senators, having played in 53 playoff games. Getting Spezza back will be a big boost for the Senators, but they’ll need to improve their all around game before they can get a leg up on the Penguins.

Contain Sidney Crosby

In all fairness to the Senators, containing Sidney Crosby is a lot easier said than done. In game 2 Sid the kid netted a hat-trick taking over the game to get the win. If the Senators plan to come back in this series they will need to keep Crosby off the scoresheet as much as possible. If Sidney Crosby is scoring, chances are the Penguins are winning. Whether you need to double team him or hit him with just a little more force, the Senators need Crosby off his game.

Craig Anderson Needs to Steal A Game

The backbone of this Senators team has been goaltender Craig Anderson. When the Senators were decimated with injuries Anderson came up big and kept them in the playoff hunt. Craig Anderson was a major factor in upsetting the Montreal Canadiens in round 1. He stoned the Canadien forwards and shut down their offence. So far in round 2 Anderson hasn’t been able to shutdown the Penguins offence, in fact he was pulled after Crosby’s hat-trick last game.

The Senators need Anderson to steal game 3 for them to get back into the series. In the first round Anderson had an almost unrealistic .950 Save Percentage, but in round two he has just a .863 Save Percentage and has been out-goaltended by Tomas Vokoun.

Erik Karlsson needs to re-find his game

Whether he’s tired or still feeling effects of his injury, Erik Karlsson has not been the same as when he first returned. Sidney Crosby made him look silly in game two and many whether about Karlsson’s health and conditioning. All great players have an “answer” game after a rough game. Erik Karlsson will need a big game in game 3 and needs to step it up for the Sens to come back. His thrilling end to end rushes and blasts from the point have been missing. Karlsson energizes the Senators team and when he’s on his game the Sens usually win.

Score more goals

With the return of Jason Spezza hopefully the Senators can start scoring more goals. With Milan Michalek, Kyle Turris, Mika Zibanejad, Cory Conacher and Daniel Alfredsson the Senators should have more than just 4 goals through the first 2 games. The Senators need to beat Vokoun and beat him early to get on a roll and hopefully get a key save. If they can score early and score often they should be able to sneak out a win in game 3.

The Senators have their work cut out for them if they plan to advance past this round, but it is possible. They will need better goaltending, better offence and better defence. With the return of Jason Spezza the Senators should come out on fire in game 3.