Ottawa Notebook: Schubert rebounds from Game 2 collision
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Christoph Schubert wasn't a big scorer for Ottawa this season, getting eight goals and 17 assists in an average of a little more than 11 minutes per game, mostly on the fourth line.
If this were last season, Schubert probably would have sat out last night in Game 3 of the first-round series of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Penguins at Mellon Arena. But Schubert returned to the lineup a day after he was helped from the ice in the first period after he fell hard onto his back when he ran into Penguins center Maxime Talbot.
"A little bit of stiffness, but beyond that, he's OK," coach Bryan Murray said before the game, adding that he made the decision whether Schubert would play.
Schubert's value to the Senators has increased this season. He plays defense, primarily as a penalty-killer, and moves up to play left wing other times.
"Last year we looked at him as an extra part, and he played accordingly -- not many games," Murray said of Schubert, who had 10 points in 56 games as a rookie in 2005-06 and played sparingly in the playoffs with one assist in seven games.
This season, Ottawa made more room for Schubert.
"We wanted to get him in the lineup because he's a great skater and has a big shot," Murray said. "We played him a lot up front because of the numbers we had on the blue line. Now we find that he can play defense on [penalty-killing] during the game, and move up to left wing and fill in and be a physical player, but also to be a threat to score goals. Having that kind of guy, being able to grab an extra [defenseman] to play always helps us coaches if we have a penalty or if we have an injury during the game."
Schubert had no points in the series going into last night's game, but he got under the Penguins' skin in Game 1 with his physical play, including a knee-on-knee hit on forward Evgeni Malkin.
Lack of focus
Murray can look at a game statistics sheet and tell a lot about why the game turned out the way it did.
Take Game 2 of the Senators first-round playoff series, a 4-3 Penguins win.
The Penguins had an edge in physical play and in faceoffs, where Sidney Crosby was 11 of 14 and Talbot was 10 of 29.
"[It was] 32-37 in hits, and Crosby and Talbot dominated the faceoff circle," Murray said yesterday. "Focus. Just focus. To me, that's what it is. Just paying attention to your game."
Because he can't predict which team will do that better, Murray is not much of a prognosticator.
"Like I said to the guys -- I shouldn't say this -- I watched the first Islander-Buffalo game [a 4-1 Sabres win], and I said to myself, 'Buffalo will get through this series pretty quick.'
"Well, they lose [3-2 in Game 2]. Teams that don't pay attention to the game 100 percent have some problems. We had lots of scoring chances, lots of shots, lots of attempted shots, but not enough attention to it."
Keep it simple
The Senators had a team meeting at their hotel yesterday morning.
Murray's message was simple. As in, keep it simple.
"I think we were trying to overpower the puck at times rather than shoot the puck, hit the net, get some results from a rebound or a missed play, whatever it may be," he said of Game 1. "That was the whole theme of the meeting. Play your game, hit the net, allow the goaltender to make a mistake, get a rebound and put it back in."
Correct call
Murray said between Games 1 and 2 that this wouldn't be a sweep for the Senators, who won the opener.
The Penguins proved him correct by winning the second game.
"We knew going in it wasn't going to be four games for either team," Murray said. "It was going to be a competitive situation. We both ended up with 105 points."
Ottawa got the fourth seed with the first tiebreaker, victories.
Slap shots
Those who are playing regularly were excused from the Senators' morning skate with travel and the back-to-back games. ... Ottawa scratched defenseman Lawrence Nycholat and wingers Brian McGrattan and Oleg Saprykin, giving it the same lineup for all three games. ... Nearly 1,500 tickets remain for Game 5 Thursday at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.
First Published April 15, 2007 11:17 pm
