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Long layoff Sens hope to shake off rust before Friday's Game 1Posted: Wednesday April 23, 2003 4:53 PMOTTAWA (AP) -- The Ottawa Senators rested while waiting to see who they'd face in the next round of the playoffs. Whether that will be an advantage for the top-seeded Senators when they play Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals Friday remains to be seen. Ottawa hasn't played since last Thursday, when it eliminated the New York Islanders in the fifth game of the opening round. "We're not used to a break like this," Senators forward Mike Fisher said. "Hopefully we can bounce back with a good effort and play well Friday. "We shouldn't be too rusty. We've been trying to stay in game-mode all week with some good practices ... realizing we're not just killing time, but we're trying to work toward building on things and getting better." The Leafs pushed the fourth-seeded Flyers to the limit in the opening round. Three games in the series went to overtime, resulting in a combined eight extra periods of hockey. "It's a drain, but they've got [time] to recover. They'll be ready Friday," Senators coach Jacques Martin said. The two teams are familiar with each other. Ottawa picked apart Philadelphia in a five-game, first-round win last season. Senators goaltender Patrick Lalime allowed just two goals in the series while his teammates rattled Flyers goaltender Roman Cechmanek, who sat out the end of the series with an ankle injury. But Philadelphia has a new coach and several new players -- Tony Amonte, Sami Kapanen, Michal Handzus, Claude Lapointe-- and bears little resemblance to the team Ottawa beat last year. "It'll be a real tough challenge," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "They played a great series against Toronto. [Ed] Belfour kept [the Leafs] in the series. We'll try to get ourselves ready for Friday and overcome the week off. "We expect to win the series ... I think everyone will be really disappointed if we didn't." |
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