It is sooooo satisfying when all the pieces fall into place as they did last night. It seems that the light finally went "click". The Senators, after about 5 minutes of getting used to the fast pace of the game, took the bit in their teeth and ran with it.



In a game where the pundits swore that the Senators' big names needed to score in order to win, only Milan Michalek managed to turn the trick, redirecting a great shot by Daniel Alfredsson. The bulk of the goals didn't come as much from secondary scoring so much as from tertiary scoring. Names like Chris Kelly, and Chris Phillips, and Matt Carkner sealed the Senators victory. While not scoring any goals, Mike Fisher was once again a force to be reckoned with, picking up three assists, on the Carkner, Kelly, and the first of Phillips' two goals. By far his best was a great heads-up pass to Kelly to send him on a breakaway and his first goal of the season.

Alex Kovalev didn't pick up a point, but his contribution is in no way lessened. Kovie's line is the one that penned the Pens in their own zone. We saw some vintage Kovie artistry last night, and I can't wait to see some more of his work. His work is apparent in the fact that both of his line mates picked up points: Fisher's three, and two more from Nick Foligno.

Defensively as well as offensively, the Senators lost few battles. They did the little things well and put sticks in lanes, poked pucks, checked and covered, and generally skated circles around the Stanley Cup champions. The Sens showed some improved play and improved passing, making long cross-ice passes to move the puck into the offensive zone, and cycled like they haven't for a long time. Blueliners were leading transitions up the ice, allowing for a four-on attack that was highly successful. On top of Phillips laser-guided goals, D-men Carkner, Alexandre Picard and Filip Kuba also picked up points. Pascal Leclaire was solid, and I must say that there wasn't much he could have done on both the Penguins goals. He robbed

All lines participated in this victory, and it truly was a whole team effort. Strange to say, some of our forwards, most notably Jason Spezza, were playing better defensively, while some of our blueliners were attacking better than they were defending, such as Matt Carkner.

And what a difference back to back victories make. The Senators climbed from 10th in the conference to 6th in a matter of two games. It is high time that the Senators got a streak going, especially against the conference's top teams. This could go a long way toward giving the Sens the confidence they need to surge ahead.

This is the team I pay to see. This is the team that can make it far. Capture that game and bottle it, it's vintage Sens.