The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Everything seemed aligned for Ottawa to tie up the series and head to Anaheim with momentum on their side. No Chris Pronger to deal with. An emotional win Saturday night and the hot crowd still rallying behind them for game 4. Dany Heatley FINALLY getting his first goal and point of the series.

But the Sens couldn't do it. They came out guns blazing in period 1, outshooting the Ducks 13-2. But it was pretty much all Ducks after that first 20 minutes. Despite Heatley finally getting a goal to tie it up near the end of the 2nd (goal #2 in 10 games), Anaheim's defense and trapping suffocated the Senators attack. Add to the gaffes by Ottawa's D (and oh boy, Redden is going to be run out of town after this series the way he's playing) and it's a recipe for disaster. It's back to Anaheim, Pronger returning to the lineup, and what seems like a destined game 5 victory for the Ducks.

All is not lost. Recall back in 2003 Ottawa was faced being down three games to one against the New Jersey Devils. They took game 5, then won a tension-filled game 6 in OT with Chris Phillips potting the winner. They fell in game 7 as we all know, but they had still showed they could battle back and still put up a fight. Anaheim is now expected to put Ottawa away, so the pressure is solely on them.

Ottawa has to play a full 60 minutes. How they can turn the switch on and off like they did tonight completely escapes me. But we'll see if they can mount a history-making comeback, starting Wednesday night in game 5.