The Senators learned Tuesday night that you cannot manufacture desperation, you cannot buy it at the corner store or online. Even in the vast space of the worldwide web, there’s no app to create desperation.
You either have it or you don’t. And on this night, down 2-0 in the series, the Rangers had it and the Senators didn’t.
The end result was a 4-1 Rangers win in Game 3 at the Garden, cutting Ottawa’s series lead to 2-1 entering Thursday night’s Game 4.
But it was the way the Rangers won this game that has to give their fans hope, and rattle the Senators.