The Senators made a huge strategic mistake two days ago when they lost, 7-0, to the Penguins in Pittsburgh. They tried to play run-and-gun with the offensively-superior Penguins.

That's not going to happen today with the Senators at home and their season on the line trailing 3-2 in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals.

Ottawa is going to revert back to its normal play, which is a conservative, defensive style meant to pick spots and frustrate Pittsburgh. It worked for the Senators during the first three games of the series when they allowed just three goals.

The Penguins have made adjustments and played much better during the last two games. One adjustment was going with Matt Murray in goal instead of Marc-Andre Fleury. I've always considered Murray to be Pittsburgh's top goalie. He was outstanding in helping lead the Penguins to the Stanley Cup last season and he's been great since replacing Fleury giving up just two goals during nearly nine quarters posting a 1.08 goals against average and .958 save percentage.

There was one plus for the Senators in getting blown out by the Penguins this past Sunday. They were able to greatly reduce the ice time of star defenseman Erik Karlsson and Cody Ceci. This could prove especially beneficial to Karlsson, who is playing with two hairline fractures in his left heel. There's a chance, too, that the Senators could get back defenseman Mark Borowiecki, who has been out since early in the Round 1 series against Boston.