Senators wanted to step up their toughness
Filip Kuba of the Ottawa Senators takes a penalty in the second period for high sticking Carl Hagelin of the New York Rangers. (April 14, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
Matt Carkner pummeling Brian Boyle just 2:15 into Saturday night's Game 2 seemed like an overzealous move, but it was one Ottawa rallied around.
To Carkner's teammates, it was a spark. The Senators tied the series after taking an aggressive approach that was missing from Game 1, and they targeted Boyle, who they felt took liberties with defenseman Erik Karlsson in a Game 1 scrum.
"We were definitely picked up by what Cark did. We have Erik's back," said Nick Foligno, who tied the score with 4:37 left in the third before Ottawa won in overtime. "We had to let Boyle know we didn't like what he did. It really picked up the whole team."
The Senators banded together the same way after their captain, Daniel Alfredsson, left the game after an elbow to the head by Rangers rookie Carl Hagelin. Karlsson tied the score at 1-1 on the ensuing five-minute power play, but Alfredsson did not return. His status for Monday's Game 3 in Ottawa is unknown.
"I would let [NHL disciplinarian] Brendan Shanahan see what he thinks about it," Senators coach Paul MacLean said of Hagelin's hit. "I don't have an opinion on it."
"We definitely didn't like that hit. It was a really dirty hit," Foligno said. "I felt like when Alfie went down, it really brought everyone together."
Just as the Senators avenged Boyle's rabbit-punching of Karlsson in Game 1, they might feel the need to do the same with Hagelin Monday.
"We'll see," said former Islander Zenon Konopka, who dressed for the first time this series, along with Carkner, to add some bite. "Things have a way of working themselves out with karma. We need to win the series. That's the biggest priority for us."
Konopka, Carkner and Chris Neil, who fought Boyle later in the first and scored the overtime winner, were all on the ice to start the game to try to set an aggressive tone that MacLean felt was missing from Thursday's opener.
After Carkner was ejected and Alfredsson left, Konopka and Neil took on more important roles. Konopka assisted on Foligno's tying goal and Neil swept in the winner.
"We were kind of upset at the way we got pushed around in Game 1," Konopka said. "We wanted to show that we've got some guys who can push back as well. No one's going to be taken advantage of, not on our watch."
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