It looked dicey there for a minute, but the Senators finally ended their 3-game losing skid and earned Bryan Murray his first win in his second game since taking over the Senators' bench. The boys came out with a much stronger effort today, even though the second period started with a parade to the penalty box thanks to three minor penalties for Martin Lapointe. Yeah, I'm not so sure that's the best way to endear yourself to a new team.

The boys really came out and took it to the Penguins physically. They weren't shy at all about getting into their faces and rubbing them into the boards. Chris Phillips in particular let Evgeni Malkin know that boarding him will not be tolerated. It was nice to see the fire back in these guys as those who would least expect were willing to drop them for one another as Antoine Vermette fresh off of a new haircut had a tilt with Maxime Talbot.

Martin Gerber got the start in net today and while he certainly was not at his strongest, he still made some good saves in some key moments. There were some goals that he should have easily had had, but luckily the offense came back to this team in time to bail him out.

Looking at ice time, Dean McAmmond only averaged 9 and a half minutes and Alfie saw upwards of 23, but this is understandable considering how much PK time the Senators were on in the second.

Daniel Alfredsson was having a brutal stretch but he finally broke out of that slump a little bit today with two goals and an assist. Also, he has been dressing particularly well lately. If anybody gets a chance to see the pre-game on HNIC for this afternoon's game, I highly suggest you do so and witness Alfie's snazzy suit, topped up by a very fashionable fedora.

I think the mood right now is cautiously optimistic. As far as I'm concerned, the Canadiens can have the Northeast perch if they would like as long as the Senators string together a good stretch going into the playoffs. Considering our record against weaker teams in the conference, maybe it's best that our first round opponent not be that far away from us points wise. Right now, the Senators need to focus on their own play. There's a tedency no matter what to scoreboard watch, but the only thing they can worry about is breaking those bad habits and playing out of this slump.

Still, tonight when the Habs and the Devils play one another I'll still be hoping that the Earth opens up beneath the Phone Booth in Montreal and swallows them up.

Labels: antoine vermette, bryan murray, daniel alfredsson, fashion, hockey night in canada, martin gerber, pittsburgh penguins