Sens' Green on pressure for Game 6: 'Each player deals with it themselves'
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The Ottawa Senators may have grappled momentum back in their favour with their 4-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 5 on the road on Tuesday.
With momentum on their side though, now comes the pressure. And Senators head coach Travis Green isn't sure how his players will handle it.
“Each player does deal with it themselves. You always talk about pressure in the playoffs. I think certain players like pressure and don't really look at it like pressure," Green said following Thursday's practice.
"Our team’s enjoying themselves, excited to play and they’re enjoying the so-called pressure. It’s a good thing and some guys like it.”
Ottawa will host the Maple Leafs in Game 6 before a potential Game 7 would be played in Toronto on Saturday. The Senators have fought back from a 3-0 series deficit with back-to-back wins in Game 4 and 5.
“I don’t think there’s any pressure. For us, it’s if you lose you go home," Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said. "
There’s nothing really, no pressure on us. We just gotta go out there and play. Give absolutely everything we have. That’s all you can control. As an individual know that after the game you can look yourself in the mirror and know you left everything out there. I think that’s our mindset and attitude and I don’t think that’s going to change.”
Tkachuk has led the Senators with six points in five games this series - three goals and three assists, including a goal and two helpers in the win on Tuesday.
The star of the show on Tuesday, though, was goaltender Linus Ullmark, who turned away all 29 shots he faced. The veteran who joined the Senators in a trade with the Boston Bruins over the offseason struggled early in the series but has played strongly in wins in their last two games.
Green is expecting more good things from the former Vezina Trophy winner.
“He’s gonna be great tonight, I have no doubt," Green said. "He’s been great for us all year. He’s steadily improved as the playoffs have gone on. I’ve kind of seen this in his game during the season, I have a lot of confidence in him and you get toward the end of any series, goaltending is a big part of it.”
Tkachuk thinks the team has yet to play their best hockey, despite largely dominating the action in Game 5.
"We’ve shown a lot of times the way we need to play," said Tkachuk. "I thought last game we were getting back to our A game. The message has been all season, there’s no chance we’re ever going to be complacent with where our games at. We always want more.”
“I think we’ve come close [to playing our best]," Green added. "I don’t think we’ve quite got there. We have talked about how every game you have to raise your game as the series goes on. I think we’re gonna need to raise our game tonight. We’re going to get the best out of Toronto tonight and we’re going to have to bring our best to the table as well.”
Ottawa is playing in their first Stanley Cup playoff action since losing in the Eastern Conference Final in 2017.