PITTSBURGH - If it’s a Monday, in the third round of the NHL playoffs, the Ottawa Senators best line must consist of Jean-Gabriel Pageau with Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone on his wings, right?
Well, for the next five minutes anyway.
In the ever-mixing and -matching world of Senators coach Guy Boucher, he has, at least temporarily, stumbled upon something special with a Pageau-Ryan-Stone combination.
Ryan’s overtime winner Saturday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against Pittsburgh, his fifth goal of the playoffs, came after Pageau and Stone won a hard battle at their own blue line against Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.