It’s been 19 years since the Penguins have swept a team in the playoffs. Now the Ottawa Senators can be added to the likes of the Oakland Seals, St. Louis Blues, and New York Rangers after losing 3-1 against Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. It’s the only sweep of the first round this year, earning Crosby and company some rest before playing again.
The Senators never seemed to be able to rebound from poor performance midway through the season which was coupled with goaltender Ray Emery’s antics and injuries and inopporune times. It’s a reversal of roles from last year’s playoffs, when the same two teams met and the Senators dispatched the Penguins quickly in 5 games.
“They handled us pretty well last year. They were physical and they were hard on us and to be able to come back this year and learn from our mistakes and be better for it and get a win here feels good for sure.” – Sidney Crosby
Ray Emery has refused to take responsibility for his teams dismal season, despite many critics pointing directly at him. Emery spent most of the season playing poorly and making his way into the papers with erratic and distracting behavior.
“I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted to and they were coming at me, upset with me – I was pissed off. I thought, you take a team to the finals you’re the guy until you’re bad enough not to be the guy kind of thing, and I shouldn’t have treated it that way. I’ve worked for everything I’ve gotten in my life and I should have just worked to get back there. I approached it the wrong way.” – Ray Emery
In the second round, Pittsburgh will either face the Boston Bruins or the winner of the New Jersey / New York series.