I freely admit I'm one of those types who never assumes anything in playoffs, bowl games, etc......and also assumes that the opponent is essentially always good enough to beat my team. No exception here; I feel as though anyone figuring on a walkover......like ESPN, who's on the record with the Pens in 5......is horribly underselling Ottawa.
Whether the Sens stand up to the Pens man-for-man is open for discussion. But it's impossible......or should be......for anyone to dismiss Ottawa simply because of Erik Karlsson. When you have an elite guy playing at his current level......especially at hockey's equivalent of QB.....he just impacts everything they do. And even with a broken heel, I don't know who the Pens have to keep up with him.
That's not to say I don't have some level of confidence after getting by two of probably the top 4 teams coming into this year's playoffs. Nobody in the game has navigated a playoff road near as rough as the Pens thus far, so they should be fairly well prepared for most of what the Sens can throw at them.
Of course, in addition to dealing with EK, there's the Marc Methot complication at play.....no danger that Sid gets lucky enough to avoid yet another round of Wilson/Dubinsky-level harrassment.......and even friggin' Bobby Ryan has returned to the game after being MIA for much of the past few seasons. And let's not forget about the feel-good Craig Anderson story.
Anyway, all we know for sure is the hockey world in general.....and possibly every single Canadian aside Mr & Mrs t.....will be pulling for the Sens. So, just get ready for the latest chapter of Pens Against the Universe.
