Final score: 0 1

Anaheim leads series 2-0.

Through two games, it really is hard to comprehend what exactly the Sens’ strategy is in this series. How can Bryan Murray’s club win when they just aren’t getting enough shots on Jean-Sebastien Giguere? The 2003 Conn Smythe winner turned away all 16 shots he faced en route to the shutout to put his team within two games of its first ever Stanley Cup.

So far, the Senators have gotten a grand total of 36 shots on Giggy in two games. That just won’t get it done. Part of the problem is that they just can’t mount a consistent attack at even strength against the defensive minded Ducks.

For the second consecutive night, the top line of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley were blanketed by the impressive Sammi Pahlsson checking line flanked by rookie Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer. So ineffective were the trio against Anaheim’s checking line that Murray broke them up for a few shifts in the third to try to get a spark.

Just how mortal did they look? The trio combined for only six shots and a dreadful 11 of their team’s 21 giveaways with six coming from their captain Alfredsson and four from Spezza including a costly one which led directly to the only goal of the game by Pahlsson. The top pivot tried to make a play at the blueline but never got the puck deep allowing the Ducks’ shutdown pivot to go the other way and then use defenseman Joe Corvo as a screen and wrist one by Ray Emery with 5:44 remaining.

How ineffective was Spezza? He also got destroyed on draws 13-3 with most coming against Pahlsson who went a sizzling 10-of-12 in the faceoff circle.

Even Spezza’s one good scoring chance a shift after the giveaway was thwarted by Giguere. He took an Alfredsson feed in front but couldn’t beat the Anaheim netminder who did his best work during a crucial 67 second Ottawa five-on-three in the first period.

Many including this space pointed towards a big Anaheim penalty kill in a similar situation with their team trailing 2-1 in Game 1. You could certainly make an argument that this was every bit as huge because the Sens were looking for something to give them more confidence. Instead, Giguere made his best saves of the game including a couple of sprawling ones and a quick glove to shutdown a Spezza opportunity from the side.

While the Sens came out a little better in getting seven shots, they still gave up too many chances and allowed the more physical Ducks to dictate the pace. The Pahlsson line created plenty of chaos in the second and nearly took advantage of a couple of poor Spezza turnovers.

Only the play of Emery allowed Ottawa to have a chance entering the final stanza. The Ducks outshot the Senators 26-11 including 14-4 in a dominant second. The Ottawa netminder was brilliant in this game. For as much as he’s been questioned throughout his team’s run though he’s been solid, there was little doubt tonight that he was his team’s best player and gave them every opportunity to steal Game 2. It’s ashame that his teammates didn’t step to the forefront and provide support because that’s how well he played.

The final 20 was mostly uneventful as both teams were tenative in a scoreless game which would explain the 10 combined shots with each getting five apiece.

Ottawa’s problem is they just never gave you an indication they had what it took to pressure the Anaheim D. The only forwards with jump were supporting players such as Mike Fisher, Dean McAmmond, Peter Schaefer and Oleg Saprykin. Murray did try Alfredsson with Fisher and Schaefer while shifting McAmmond with Spezza and Heatley for a couple of shifts. So, you can’t say the coach didn’t mix it up.

Unfortunately, when the Spezza line was reunited, they were once again victimized for the deciding tally by the Pahlsson line. Now it’s back to the drawing board completely.

Can an extra day off help Ottawa turn the tide as they go home for a must win Game 3 in Kanata, Ontario? We’ll find out soon.

A few quick hits:

1.Goalie comparison through 2 games:

Ott: Emery 4 GA on 63 shots

Ana: Giguere 2 GA on 36 shots 

2.The Ducks owned the faceoff circle going 30-for-51 (59 percent) led by none other than Pahlsson (10-2). Ryan Getzlaf also was 8-for-12 while the Sens were paced by Antoine Vermette (7-3).

3.Another theme from Game 1 which continued was Anaheim not only getting more shots on Emery but also having more attempts which didn’t make the net as well:

Ott: 12 MS + 13 BS = 25 

Ana: 18 MS + 20 BS = 38 

Further breakdown through 2 games:

Total SOG     Total MS        Total shots blocked          Total attempted      Diff
Ott:    36               22                 26                                  84                       -54

Ana:   63               33                 42                                  138                     +54

4.There was plenty of physicality as the two teams combined for 64 hits with Anaheim again prevailing 36-28. Pahlsson, Moen and Getzlaf each paced the Ducks with four while two of Ottawa’s best players in Fisher and Anton Volchenkov each had four as well to lead their club. Volchenkov also blocked four shots to increase his playoff-leading total to 75.

5.This wasn’t the prettiest played game but few 1-0 games are. Hence the sloppiness:

Takeaways/Giveaways

Ott: 7/21 

Ana: 5/22 
6.Both teams were shutout on the special teams with each team’s power play finishing 0-for-4. The Ducks haven’t scored yet on the PP but haven’t needed to due to superior play at even strength. In six periods thus far, they’ve outscored the Sens 4-0 during five-on-five while Ottawa’s only two goals in Game 1 came via the PP. Unless Ottawa figures out a way to score five-on-five, they’re in big trouble.

7.Entering tonight, it was the first time all Spring the Sens trailed in a series this postseason. They now will have the unenviable task of attempting to comeback from 0-2 down. How much is history working against them here? Teams that won the first two games on home ice have gone on to win the Cup 29 of 30 times.

8.The Ducks improved to 5-0 at home in Cup Final games dating back to 2003. The encouraging news for Ottawa is they dropped all four on the road to the Devils that year to lose the series.

9.Thumbs down via AP story: What the game lacked in goals, it didn’t fall short in exciting, tense play. Whether it was enough to bring viewers to TV sets is another issue. Game 1 on Versus got only a 0.72 cable rating and was seen in 523,000 households in the United States.

10.The series shifts to NBC for Games 3-7 starting Saturday night.

Our three stars:

3rd star- Travis Moen (2 SOG, 4 hits, 1 blocked shot in 21 shifts)
2nd star- Ray Emery (30 saves including 26 first two periods)
1st star- Sammi Pahlsson (GW goal with 5:44 left, 4 hits, +1 rating in 16:07)