Load up the wheel-barrows with coins and bills and dump it all at Pascal Leclaire's feet for last night's victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Without him, the Sens goose was cooked, feathers and all.



Leclaire was brilliant in the third and saved the Senators' bacon - and their win - with his acrobatic goaltending. Out of the paint as much as four feet at times, leaving a yawning goal mouth behind him, Leclaire was fearless and confident in the face of a surging Leafs offense and a crumbling Sens defense (see A Pyrrhic victory).

Without a doubt, Leclaire's stong suits are his cross-crease movement, the speed at which he kicks out his legs, and that quick trapper hand. He was miraculous in keeping the puck out of the net, sweeping a puck out at the last minute with his stick. His trapper was miraculous against Hagman, and he robbed a few from Ponikarovsky and Mitchell.

It seems that the Senatoprs goalies have hit their stride in the past few games, Biran Elliott against the Ransgers and Leclaire against the Leafs last night. The Senators will need all their skills for the coming coming four games against some of the powerhouses of the Eastern Conference.