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"I think we will look forward to starting the new season here. It's always a long year and a big grind. I can speak for myself, it's extremely satisfying being in the playoffs again. I am really looking forward to it," Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson said. "We'll have three or four days to get ready and get our legs going a little more. I think we'll bounce back and play some better hockey."
The other two East series feature the No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins meeting the No. 5 Philadelphia Flyers, and the No. 2 Boston Bruins, the defending Stanley Cup champions, taking on the No. 7 Washington Capitals.
The Penguins and Flyers played twice in Pittsburgh in the regular-season's final seven days, splitting the pair.
"I think it's going to be a rough series. It won't be easy. They want to win as bad as us," Flyers forward Claude Giroux said. "We're a young team with a lot of injuries and we've got to make sure we go out there and outwork the Penguins. It's going to be a tough one."
And it will include Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who played in just 22 regular-season games. Crosby scored his eighth goal of the season Saturday, in the Penguins' 4-2 win over the Flyers.
"I expect a pretty intense series. If anything prior to this is any indication, that's pretty fair to say," Crosby said. "Those are the kind of series you want to be a part of."
The Bruins -- who raised the Stanley Cup last season after playing three seven-game series -- again won the Northeast Division this year, and seemed headed toward a date with Ottawa until the Senators slid. Instead, they get Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, who were the No. 1 seed in the East last season.
"Our number one goal is the same it's been every year, and that's to make the playoffs. And, I always keep saying the same thing over and over, that making the playoffs is a tough thing to do on a consistent basis," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "We've seen teams that have won the Cup and failed to make the playoffs the next year. We've seen teams win the Cup and just barely make it in.
"For us, to win our division and get another season of over 100 points, I think it's a credit to those guys in there because it was a tough grind. We had ups and downs, but now we start that new season that everybody gets excited about, and we've got as good a chance as anybody else to win."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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