The Second Round of the 2017 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs is now about to begin. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens four games to two, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins four games to two as well. For only the second time in their history, the Rangers and Senators will be facing off in the playoffs- a battle that will consist of fast paced offenses, physical play, and tremendous goaltending. The Rangers sit in the first wild card slot in the Metropolitan Division while the Senators hold the number two slot in the Atlantic Division. Here, we take a look at the prior history between these two illustrious clubs.
New York Rangers vs Ottawa Senators Playoff History
The last, and only other time these two teams met was in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The New York Rangers would win the series, after rallying from a three game-to-two deficit, closing it out on home ice at Madison Square Garden in Game 7. The series was a battle, the Rangers took Game 1 by a score of 4-2, Ottawa won Game 2 in overtime 3-2, and in Game 3, Henrik Lundqvist shut out the Senators and powered New York to a 1-0 victory. Ottawa would then go on to win both Games 5 and 6, Game 5 in overtime, and Game 6 shutting out the Rangers. Ottawa was looking to close out the series at home, but the Blueshirts rallied and defeated them 3-2, and then returned to MSG for Game 7, the result of which was a 2-1 NYR victory, and ultimately series winner.
Carkner vs Boyle
One of the lasting memories of the 2012 series was the physical battle between the Senators defenceman Matt Carkner and the Rangers centre Brian Boyle. Carkner felt that Boyle had taken liberties with Erik Karlsson in game two of the series, and looked for retribution.
Just two days later, Boyle would get his revenge, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 Rangers victory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt6BG4FtHjQ
The side shows would be forgotten as the series moved along though. Leading to some quality hockey and an exciting finish in seven games.
Players from that series
Six current Rangers players were on the 2012 team, they consist of Henrik Lundqvist, Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, and Ryan McDonagh. The Senators have seven players still around from 2012- they include Craig Anderson, Mike Hoffman, Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, Chris Neil, and Zack Smith. For all of these players, it will be deja vu to be seeing each other again. For those on Ottawa, it will be a revenge tour, all in an attempt to make up for the 2012 series loss.
The Rangers have won ten of their last 15 regular season road games against the Senators, the earliest dating back to 2009. Also, in the 2012 series, two of the Rangers wins were on the road. In this season’s meetings between the two clubs, Ottawa holds the better record at 2-1, while the Rangers sit at 1-2. In November, Ottawa defeated New York 2-0, in December, the Rangers won 4-3, and then in their final meeting in April, Ottawa won the game 3-1.
The Previous Senators Franchise
Let it also be noted that in 1930, the New York Rangers squared off against a defunct Ottawa Senators team. The series only consisted of two games, with New York and Ottawa tying the first game 1-1, and then the Rangers winning the next game 5-2, and as a result the series. This series however, does not “count” due to the fact that Ottawa would later disband after moving to St. Louis in 1933, an era that lasted only one season. The original Senators team was from 1917-18 and 1933-34.
The New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators kick off their Second Round match-up Thursday at 7:00 pm, EST, at the Canadian Tire Centre.
#Blueshirts 2nd Rd Schedule:
G1 4/27 @ OTT 7p
G2 4/29 @ OTT 3p
G3 5/2 MSG 7p
G4 5/4 MSG 7:30p
*G5 5/6 @ OTT
*G6 5/9 MSG
*G7 5/11 @ OTT pic.twitter.com/cJJua5yD9m— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 24, 2017
Main Photo:
