The Ottawa Senators lost their first 3 games of the first round playoff series against the Leafs and looked all but dead. However they have managed to fight back, win two games, and make it a series against the Maple Leafs. How have they done it? By playing sound defensive hockey.
Using the Shot Analytics Tool found at The Stanley Cap we can easily see how Ottawa has improved at defending against slot shots. Here is the Maple Leafs 5v5 Shots on Goal distribution for the first 3 games in the series which they won all three.
In total, 43.1% of shots on goal were from the home plate region and 29.3% came from the blue line. Here is how they fared in the two Senators wins.
Now we have 35.7% of shots from the home plate region and a whopping 42.9% of shots coming from the blue line. The shots from the high center slot had a dramatic drop from 15.7% of shots to 2.4% of shots. It appears they have shifted from trying to get inside shots to shooting more from the point and trying to generate rebound chances, or the Senators have just done a better job of protecting the slot area, in particular the high slot.
In 5v4 situations the picture is just as dramatic. Here is the Leafs shot distribution chart at 5v4 in the first 3 wins of the series.
No shots on goal from the point and 84.6% of shots on goal from the home plate zone. Now in the two losses:
Just 68.8% of shots from the home plate zone (which is still good, but not near as good as the first 3 games) and shots up the middle have been push further out.
As I wrote earlier this season, the Ottawa Senators are at their best when they play with good defensive structure in their own zone protecting the slot and pushing shots to the perimeter. They got away from that early in this series but have returned to it in past two games. Their success going forward depends on continuing to limit Leaf shots from inside.