Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Despite the 31 penalties Ottawa has taken in the series, goalie Ray Emery has faced just 90 shots in the four games. Click photo for larger image.

The Penguins are full of playoff neophytes. Ottawa is playing with one.

Perhaps that's why defenseman Joe Corvo has felt right at home playing in the postseason during the Senators' first-round series with the Penguins. Corvo has four assists going into Game 5 tonight at Scotiabank Place.

"I tried to just make these like any other game," he said. "I tried to ignore the crowd noise and just stay out of that whole thing and just play. It worked out for me. To be honest with you, it didn't seem much faster or too overwhelming."

Corvo, 29, isn't as young as the Penguins who are in the playoffs for the first time -- although he's young enough in spirit to be sporting a blond Mohawk-style hairdo. He's a fourth-year NHL player who signed as a free agent last summer.

"I've been around a long time, believe it or not," he said.

It probably also helped that Corvo was playing like gangbusters as the regular season ended. He had 16 of his 37 points and a plus-minus rating of plus-14 over the last 28 games.

"I put together a long stretch of good games the past couple months," he said. "It was just a matter of keeping it going."

Corvo has taken on a substantial role with the Senators, including a spot on the point on the top power-play unit.

"Joe Corvo has elevated his game in the last couple of months," coach Bryan Murray said. "He plays the point on the power play now. He's got the huge shot."

Not his No. 1 goal

Anton Volchenkov has a major responsibility with the Senators. He and defense partner Chris Phillips are assigned to play against opponents' top lines game after game.

Goals are an infrequent bonus for Volchenkov, so the winner he got Tuesday night to give the Senators a 2-1 win and a 3-1 series lead instantly became a career highlight. It wasn't the biggest goal of his career, though.

He ranks his winning goal as captain of Russia's team against Canada in the 2002 world junior championship gold-medal game ahead of the one against the Penguins. "Yes, that's No. 1," he said.

Language gaps

Volchenkov, 25, broke into the NHL in 2002-03, but speaks halting English. Those around the Ottawa team say he has not made a strong effort to learn English and might have regressed.

He apparently speaks only Russian as often as possible away from the rink. Compare that with Penguins rookie Evgeni Malkin, who has learned to understand English fairly well, but is reluctant to speak it, even with teammates. Or compare that with Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who was doing interviews in English early in his rookie season of 2005-06 and has gotten better.