The Ottawa Sun blared "Sens rake Leafs", and I had to laugh a little. First it was a pretty good pun. Otherwise, it was far from the truth.  If it hadn't been for the superb daredevil play of Sens goalie Pascal Leclaire, the results would have been far different. While the Senators dominated play in the first period, the second was more evenly matched and the third was definitely in the Leafs' favour.



For the eighth grade readers out there, a Pyrrhic victory dates back to king Pyrrhus in ancient times who defeated the Romans in a battle but lost so many of his soldiers that it made the victory a moot one. Granted, the Sens did not suffer any injuries last night, but screaming from the rooftops that the Sens won is over-reaction.

Upside

Mike Fisher is a huge upside. Keep him on a line with Alexei Kovalev, since Fisher seems to know where to go and Kovie knows how to get the puck to him. That duo was responsible for two of last night's goals. Surprisingly, Alexandre Picard played his best game of the season so far, making some smart plays in the defensive zone keeping the giveaways to a strict minimum, and firing at the net from the point, which allowed Milan Michalek to tip one in on Vesa Toskala. Leclaire was, of course, brilliant most of the time.

The return of Shean Donovan to the lineup was a godsend. He's definitely not the most skilled player on the team, but his tenacity and toughness, along with that of Jarkko Ruutu and  Chris Kelly, make the Senators fourth line a force to be reckoned with. I also liked the play of Brian Lee. Since coming back to the Sens from Bingo, he has simplified his game and started pinching and shooting on net with good results.

Strangely, both Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza were bright lights, but mostly in the defensive zone. Spezza was impressive on the D, making smart plays, putting his stick in the right spots and stripping pucks away from the Leafs.

Downside

The worst downside is that the Senators went into protective mode halfway through the third. This cost them a lot of games last season and could have been the same yesterday if it wasn't for Leclaire's work. The Sens, who usually play two forward and three back when their opponents have puck control in their own zone, were playing one forward and four back in an attempt to deny the neutral zone and ultimately their own blue line. They failed dismally. Protecting a lead is a great idea if you're the Devils, not when you're the Senators. The Sens should also take a page from the Leafs who were playing two down - three up while on the attack. The three at the blue line were launching bomb after bomb at the net, hoping for a redirect or a rebound. It was a minor miracle that the puck stayed out.

On defense, the Sens gave the Leafs way too much time and space to set up. On a particular break out from their zone in the second period, the Leafs bobbled the puck no less than four times. No one was there to take advantage of it, and the breakout resulted in a good scoring chance for the Toronto squad.

On the attack, the Sens are still trying to make the extra pass, that perfect play, and don't fire at the net often enough. A few players get it (Alfie, Lee, Fisher, and Picard for example) and stayed back and fired at Toskala. Two of the Senators three goals were scored this way, one on a redirect and another on a juicy rebound. Simplify and go with what works.

While Leclaire's play was brilliant in the third, he did let another softie in. Kessel's goal in the first frame to tie the game at 1-1 should have been stopped. Leclaire gets beaten too often on mid and high shots to the stick side, probably because he goes to his knees a tad too fast.

In the end, the Sens should be happy to take their two points and run to the next practice to get another talking to about breaking through defenses. If you can't make the fancy play and the opposition keeps you on the outside, then fire at the net. Get the puck to the goal and good things will happen. Good things have to happen, 'cause here come the Penguins