History on the line for the Pittsburgh Penguins in upcoming Game 7

Head coach Guy Boucher said that Chris Kelly or Tommy Wingels will take the place of rookie Colin White in Thursday night’s decisive game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the Senators, victory means reaching the Cup Final for the first time in a decade – and proving that their so-called Cinderella run in the playoffs is more than just a fairy tale. Without counting their outburst of goals in Game 5 victory, the Penguins have scored just seven goals in five games against the Senators. He’s had a lot of skillful, highlight reel goals in his career, but the individual effort displayed on the play was tremendous.

Malkin, with 153 career playoff points and 1.08 points per-game, sits only a touch behind Crosby statistically in the post-season, but nearly without exception it’s Crosby who’s drawn (and continues to draw) the opposition’s fiercest opponent, including Erik Karlsson presently and P.K. Subban and Mattias Ekholm if the Pens prevail and face the Preds.

“There’s no pressure on us”. Jean-Gabriel Pageau leads Ottawa with eight goals, Erik Karlsson has 14 assists and Mike Hoffman has 49 shots on goal. “But in our room we just focus on what we need to do”.

“But, we know the game plan, sticking to our system and trying to shut them down as best we can to give ourselves the best chance (to win)”. The Senators are 0-5 all-time in Game 7s, tying them with the Arizona Coyotes for the worst record in all of North American pro sports.

“I think everyone has a little piece of that, or has worked with someone or done something”, said Clarke MacArthur.

“I think it’s fun to kind of get lost in those moments and to just do what you can do”, Penguins goaltender Matt Murray said.

“How do you think that after you lose 7-0?”

May 22: Predators bounce the Ducks with a 6-3 win in Game 6.

The plan is pretty simple for Ottawa. “It’s not something that’s new to them”. While the Penguins admitted he played well, they feel they could have done more with their opportunities. If the Penguins repeat their performance as Malkin says, it’s very likely Anderson won’t stop close to 98 percent of the shots he sees again.

This occurred minutes after a coach’s challenge wiped away Trevor Daley’s goal. Yet here the Senators are, alive and still skating with a chance to eliminate the deeper, more experienced and more explosive Stanley Cup champions.

Further, statistics and trends often don’t fall true in these make-or-break games. Marc-Andre Fleury has been solid all post-season and Murray played a huge role in the team’s win past year. “We’re going to be competitive in front of our net”.

“I’ve been really blessed and really fortunate to be on good teams with great players”, Cullen said.

“That’s something they’ve developed individually and as a team, and that’s why we’re still here”.

Extracurricular trouble is what the Penguins and Senators both insist they want to avoid during Thursday’s series-deciding game at PPG Paints Arena. They did win the Cup with him in goal last season.

Maybe the embarrassment of the loss was what Ottawa needed.

Look at It Both Ways: On the one hand, Craig Anderson made 45 saves and allowed only one hard-fought goal in his return from a first-period beatdown.