The Ottawa Senators trail the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 after losing in overtime Thursday night.
In the Senators' first home playoff game since May 23, 2017, they scored first, and captain Brady Tkachuk forced overtime before Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit took a slapshot from near the blueline and beat Sens goalie Linus Ullmark. The puck flew through traffic, and Ullmark raised his glove arm milliseconds too late.
"I didn't see anything," Ullmark told reporters post-game.
With the Senators now being on the brink of elimination in their first playoff series in eight years, captain Tkachuk looked back at history when talking to the media afterward.
"This obviously isn't the situation we drew up, but make it the hardest challenge of them all," Tkachuk said. "I've been saying this a lot – it's not too long ago I watched the Red Sox versus Yankees documentary when they came back from 0-3, so it's been done before, and I believe that it can happen again."
Tkachuk is referring to the 2004 American League Championship Series, when the MLB's Boston Red Sox trailed 3-0 against their fierce rivals, the New York Yankees. (The documentary's called The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox.)
In Game 4 of the series, the Yankees blew the lead in the ninth inning and lost in extra innings. The Red Sox then won three more games to complete the reverse sweep and head to the World Series. They won in the final to end their 86-year World Series title drought and the "Curse of the Bambino."
The way the Senators lost in overtime for the second straight game against a team they're 0-4 against in past playoff series, one wouldn't be faulted for throwing the word "curse" around in their situation.
"We're battling back, we're doing a lot of good things, lot of good things, but sometimes, it comes down to Lady Luck," Ullmark said. "With Lady Luck, you've got to earn it. That's what you've got to do, earn it every night. It's not going to come for free, that's for sure."
Coach Travis Green says he doesn't think the team needs to change much.
"I'm not complaining, but (the Maple Leafs) got a couple of bounces that have gone their way," Green said. "When you lose two games this way, you're not making big adjustments."
The Senators had more scoring chances and more high-danger chances than the Leafs did in Game 3, according to naturalstattrick.com. The Leafs had 2.32 expected goals to Ottawa's 2.25 and, more importantly, three goals to Ottawa's two. Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz stopped 18 of 20 shots, while Ullmark stopped 17 of 20.
Toronto was also effective on the special teams again, going 1-for-2 on the power play and killing three of four penalties. The Senators must win that special-teams battle, win more faceoffs and find the low slot more often in the offensive zone to keep the chance of a reverse sweep alive.
The home crowd, however, felt special for the home team. Although Leafs fans still made it into the stands despite the Senators' strategy of opening ticket sales to season-ticket holders first, the crowd of 19,073 was loud.
"It was unbelievable," Tkachuk said. "It's probably the coolest atmosphere I've ever played in. Honestly, I can't really describe it because... came out there and had immediate goosebumps, chills, and it was special. It really was special, and that's what makes this city so special is the support.
"Going to need it again in Game 4. I know they're going to bring it. I know they're going to bring that energy, bring that passion, and we'll find a way for them."
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