(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)

The bad news of course is that the Senators lost their OFFICIAL home opener in Ottawa tonight to the Detroit Red Wings, who haven't lost their first two games of the season since 1983, or something ridiculous like that. The good news is, I didn't expect the Senators to win anyways, so I was prepared for the disappointment.

For one, the Red Wings were probably feeling embarrassed for the poor showing they had against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and had something to prove. For another, and not that I'm trying to use this as an excuse, but the Senators had a week off since returning from Sweden and there was that to consider.

The boys were being badly outplayed for most of the first period and one must give credit where credit is due as Martin Gerber actually was really solid despite being peppered with shots. It could have been much worse for the Senators, as they were outshot 16-7 by the Red Wings. The game slipped away from the boys in the third, as the boys played very sloppily and allowed the Red Wings too much space.

The Red Wings were just more aggressive with the puck, they had better positioning and they played a smarter game. I cringe at the thought of how many give aways our boys committed tonight because it was not pretty. To their credit, their special teams seem to be coming along as once again their penalty kill was very effective as they managed to kill off every penalty they had on the night. Antoine Vermette even had a couple of short handed chances, as is his usual M-O. They also managed to kill off a lengthy 5-on-3 for the Wings that gave them a bit of a boost. Even more impressive than that...they actually scored with a two-man advantage! I honestly cannot remember the last time that happened.

On the plus side Nick Foligno and Jesse Winchester continues to impress. While Jarkko Ruutu started the game on the big line at the beginning, eventually Winchester was moved up there and played very smart. Foligno was doing a little bit of everything, scoring a goal and playing the body. If you get a chance to see Foligno's goal, I highly suggest you see it because the guy literally went through two Detroit players to score that goal. It was wicked. Mike Fisher was back in the line-up tonight, and while his timing was a bit off and he seemed slightly rusty, he also managed to make some very good plays.

Dany Heatley wore the 'C' tonight, and it looked quite good on him. Although the team was missing Daniel Alfredsson, the score could have been much worse. So even though we lost, it's not time to panic yet. This team can only get better with Alfredsson's return and I can only hope Craig Hartsburg is slapping Jason Spezza upside the head.

By the way, was Jiri Hudler faux-Frenching Chris Osgood after the game? I totally think he was. What the heck was up with that?

Oh yeah, don't think I didn't notice that Scotiabank Place was playing "The Sweet Escape" in a last-ditch attempt for some good karma to tie the game. Nice try. Didn't work, though.

Hockey Night in Canada...Nice Try
Dear Greg Millen, Who is Antoine "Vermont"? And Craig Simpson is the talking head that you work with, not the coach of the Ottawa Senators.

Dear Mike Milbury, I know you want to strangle Al Strachan. You're not even trying to hide it anymore. I'd prefer you do that rather than all the jabber-jabber you usually do.

Toronto Marlies versus Binghamton Senators
Full pictures of the Toronto Marlies home opener against the Binghamton Senators can be found here. Happy Thanksgiving to all of my wonderful Canadian friends who are celebrating this weekend. Don't eat too much turkey!

Labels: binghamton senators, dany heatley, detroit red wings, greg millen, home loss, jesse winchester, martin gerber, nick foligno, ottawa senators, photography, toronto marlies