If it were not for the fact that this game went to overtime, the final score might have felt like an afterthought due to all the major incidents that occurred throughout the contest. However, the biggest story will ultimately be the Senators late game dramatics. Nick Foligno evened the game with just 4:37 left in the third period and then Chris Neil scored a mere 1:17 minutes into overtime to hand Ottawa a 3-2 victory. Just like that, we have a series again as things are knotted up at 1-1 going into Ottawa.
Here’s some discussion topics:
- Matt Carkner set the tone for this game by picking a fight with Brian Boyle. Carkner knocked Boyle down and wailed on him despite the fact that Boyle didn’t even drop his gloves. Carkner was ejected as a result, but Boyle would later fight Chris Neil.
- Daniel Alfredsson left Saturday’s game after being the victim of a high elbow from Carl Hagelin.
- Erik Karlsson found the back of the net on Saturday after going scoreless in Game 1. As a rookie, he had six points in six games during Ottawa’s first round series against Pittsburgh in 2009.
- The series will now head to Ottawa, but is that really much of an advantage for the Senators? They were just 20-17-4 at home this season, compared to the Rangers, who were 24-12-5 on the road.