Silver Linings After Going Down 0-2 to the Maple Leafs

Last night was a great reminder of how cruel playoff hockey can be. The Ottawa Senators came back from an early 2-0 deficit to make it 2-2 late in the game, only to lose in the first few minutes of overtime. They battled hard to make it a game, but they're still down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series. And although it can be all doom and gloom, I want to focus on a few silver linings at this point:

Signs of Life

After a dreadful 6-2 loss and an early 2-0 deficit, it was looking like another frustrating night on Tuesday. However, Ottawa didn't back down, and they clawed their way to tie the game with 5:13 left. They looked ill-prepared in the first period yet again, but they dominated in the second period with 13 shots for and three against, plus 33 overall attempts and seven against. Two powerplays helped (including a goal), but even at even strength, they were controlling the play.

The third period wasn't quite as dominant, but they still had 21 attempts to Toronto's 16. Adam Gaudette's game-tying tip only happened because Tim Stützle was forechecking hard and kept the play alive. This is a team that has already shown the ability to come back, and there's no chance they are going to lie down and give up the rest of this series. I've liked most of their 5v5 play, but it's not always that simple. Regardless, I'm not counting them out yet. Here are some silver linings.

Home Sweet Home

Teams are always going to look worse on the road. That's just a fact. I'm not that surprised that Ottawa lost both games in Toronto because the Maple Leafs were 27-13-1 at home this season, while the Senators were 18-19-4 on the road. Sure, getting a split on the road would have been fantastic, but it is what it is. Furthermore, the Senators made the Canadian Tire Centre quite the fortress as well, going 27-11-3 at home, which was two points better than Toronto and ninth best in the NHL.

It's not as if these next two home games are guaranteed wins at all, but the Senators have a chance to be comfortable in their own building and hopefully have a raucous crowd that features as few Leafs fans as possible. They still need to actually get both wins at home in order to truly be back in this series, but it's doable. It always feels better being at home.

Roller Coaster Season

How many times did the Senators season feel like this?

They went through so many peaks and valleys that it was hard to keep up with how we should be feeling about them. The whiplash from mid-December to mid-March was incredible. It went:

6-0, 1-5-1, 5-0-1, 0-2, 5-0, 0-5, 7-0-1.

Every time it seemed like they were going to fall out of the playoff race, they pulled themselves back out of it. The Maple Leafs are much better than other teams they've had to face, but Ottawa can go from looking like a non-playoff team to a serious threat on different nights, so don't count out some random elite play.

More Disciplined

While some of the penalties in game one were a bit borderline, the Senators still put themselves in situations where it was easy for the refs to call something. It looked like the moment was too big for them and they got overwhelmed. The Maple Leafs obviously took advantage as they now have four powerplay goals while needing just 38 seconds total for all of them, so good or bad discipline could make or break the series.

The good news is that Ottawa only took two minor penalties last night, with one of them being the most mind-boggling off-setting "roughing" I've ever seen:

I don't have any issue with...whatever Ridly Greig is accused of doing, so the only real penalty was an Artem Zub trip, which can happen. They kept their cool in game two, and I hope they'll be just as poised the rest of the series.

We're the Underdogs

We all want the Senators to win this series, especially against a heated rival that they've never beaten in the playoffs. However, at the end of the day, they're heavy underdogs against a division winner. It's not as if losing is okay, but it's also not unacceptable--it's somewhere in the middle. It'd be very disappointing to see them get knocked out in the first round, but it's also the expected outcome. After eight years of no playoff hockey, I'm happy to be here at all.

That doesn't mean that sentiment will last moving forward, but can't expect them to be Stanley Cup contenders right away. I want to keep some faith and believe that they can come back, but even if they don't, I'll have thoroughly enjoyed this season.