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Playoffs Tonight: ‘Pesky’ Sens fight to even series vs Pens

Tomas Vokoun

PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 14: Tomas Vokoun #92 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save in the second period against the Ottawa Senators in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on May 14, 2013 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Penguins defeated the Senators 4-1. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

We’re entering Day 4 of the second round and so far the home team has won every single contest. The Ottawa Senators will see if they can become the first team to disrupt that trend.

Game 2: Pittsburgh Penguins host Ottawa Senators (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/Live Extra)
Pittsburgh leads series 1-0

Penguins goaltender Tomas Vokoun turned aside 35 shots and Pittsburgh was 2-for-4 on the power play in Game 1. Those are two of the reasons they cruised to a 4-1 victory against the Senators.

The Senators relative youth and inexperience might have also been a significant factor.

“If we had any kind of stage fright or youthful jitters, that should be behind us and now it’s up to us to make it a series,” Senators coach Paul MacLean said.

The Senators are the clear underdogs, but that’s a role they’ve often found themselves in this year and Ottawa has thrived all the same.

“We don’t have too many known guys,” Senators forward Erik Condra said told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “But every night there’s somebody else that steps up, and that’s what’s been great about us.”

On the other side of the ice, the big story is Vokoun. He now has a 1.28 GAA and .962 save percentage in three playoff starts. The 36-year-old didn’t have much postseason experience going into this year, but he’s making up for lost time.

“You look at it like, I’ve been sitting for years watching playoff hockey on my couch and I had no chance,” Vokoun said, according to the Ottawa Citizen. “And sometimes it’s better to fail and be there than to never be there at all. I want to do well, I want my family and my friends to see me do well.

“But nervous and being tight because if we lose it’s the end of the world? I don’t feel that pressure here.”

If Vokoun keeps this up, then the “pesky” Senators will have a very hard time producing anymore surprises.