Ottawa head coach Travis Green didn't have much of a message for his Senators after Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 3 put them in a 0-3 hole.
"There's not much I'm gonna say to them right now that's gonna help or make them feel any better," Green said. "It's disheartening, to say the least. I thought both teams played a hell of a game. Sometimes playoff hockey comes down to little inches or bounces, and we were on the wrong end of it tonight."
Despite the daunting task that faces Ottawa during its first taste of playoff action since 2017, Green said he's certain his players will be ready to fight in Saturday's must-win Game 4.
"The one thing I know about our team is, we're not going to lie down, we're not going to go away, we're going to be ready to play," the bench boss said.
Like Green, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk knows the series isn't over yet.
"It's not too long ago I watched the Red Sox versus Yankees documentary when they came back from 0-3," Tkachuk said. "It's been done before, and I have the belief that it can happen again."
Green added that he didn't see a need to change much about Ottawa's play. Game 2 also went to overtime, and despite the Senators controlling 59.2% of shot attempts and 52.8% of expected goals in over 150 minutes of five-on-five play in the series, per Natural Stat Trick, they've been outscored 7-3 in those situations.
Thursday's clash was a hard-fought loss for Ottawa. Claude Giroux gave the Sens their first lead of the series with a five-on-three goal in the second period, but the Maple Leafs responded with a power-play goal of their own.
Toronto captain Auston Matthews put his team ahead in the first minute of the third stanza before Tkachuk forced the extra frame. However, the comeback attempt was short-lived, as Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit bagged the winner just over one minute into overtime.
The Canadian Tire Centre lived up to its end of the bargain, though. The fans were raucously loud, and their enthusiasm didn't go unnoticed by Tkachuk.
"It was unbelievable," he said. "That was probably the coolest atmosphere I've ever played in. Honestly, I can't really describe it because I came out there, and I had immediate goosebumps, chills. ... Gonna need it again on Game 4. I know they're gonna bring it. ... We'll find a way for them."
The puck drops on Saturday's showdown at 7 p.m. ET.
"I know we're going to play with absolutely everything that we have," Tkachuk said. "There's nothing to save it for."
