{"id":556660,"date":"2026-04-20T12:14:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556660\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:14:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:14:04","slug":"game-2-feels-like-a-must-win-for-senators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556660\/","title":{"rendered":"Game 2 feels like a must-win for Senators"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a hard-fought 2-0 loss in the series opener, the Ottawa Senators are in a spot where Game 2 isn\u2019t just another game; it kind of feels like the turning point of the series. History isn\u2019t exactly kind to teams that fall behind 2-0, and for Ottawa, Monday night at the Lenovo Center feels like it could be as close to a must-win as it gets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Game 2 for Senators is a must-win<\/p>\n

The numbers don\u2019t really leave much room for optimism if you fall behind early. Historically, NHL teams that go up 2-0 in a best-of-seven series end up winning it more than 86% of the time. For Ottawa, it\u2019s even tougher. They\u2019ve never come back to win a series after trailing 2-0.<\/p>\n

Now, that said, this group does feel a bit different, especially with how they\u2019ve played since the Olympic break. There has to be some pushback from Ottawa. They can\u2019t afford to let the Hurricanes head back to the Canadian Tire Centre fully in control of this series.<\/p>\n

Game 1 kind of showed exactly what Carolina is. Structured, patient, and pretty hard to break down. Frederik Andersen was very dominated<\/a>, but it wasn\u2019t just him. Ottawa had a tough time getting to the middle of the ice and creating anything dangerous.<\/p>\n

If they\u2019re going to even this series, it probably starts with how they handle Carolina\u2019s transition game. If the Senators can use their speed early and force a few mistakes, maybe they can tilt things a bit more in their favour.<\/p>\n

A win on Monday changes the entire feel of this series. Suddenly it\u2019s a best-of-five, and you\u2019re heading home feeling pretty good about it. But if they fall into a 0-2 hole, that\u2019s where it starts to feel like things are caving in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Senators have the ability to even the series up<\/a>. They\u2019ve shown that all season. Their main focus should be to get inside on the Hurricanes\u2019 defense and take away Andersen’s vision. If they can make life tough on Carolina\u2019s blue line and goalie, they greatly increase their chances of evening the series, as they head back home for Game 3.<\/p>\n

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