The Warmup - So it's the Senators
With last night's win against the Bruins, the Senators ensured that the Habs won the Northeast, but did they burn themselves in the process?
The Ottawa Senators are a strong team. Much stronger than Toronto, for example.
With a 52.15% Fenwick while the score is close, Ottawa isn't too far behind Montreal's 53.63%. However head to head is a much different story.
Over the season series, Ottawa managed to win two games, one being a blowout win in Peter Budaj's first start of the season, and another a shootout victory they had no business being in.
Over the 4 games the two teams have played this year, the Canadiens held the Fenwick advantage to the tune of 56.2%.
The lack of Erik Karlsson for part of the season series is a big factor, but that's some pretty intense domination considering how strong a club Ottawa is.
The break between the regular season and the playoffs being 4 full days also allows veterans like Andrei Markov to get some much needed rest.
Did the Senators doom themselves to the worst possible matchup?