After the loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs - the "Laughs" as dear friend calls them - I felt bummer. A little too bummed to write a blog... that and the pressing necessity of Christmas shopping. After the defeat, where the Senators were clearly outplayed - and in which Alexandre Picard played an awful game - I didn't expect this level of play from the Senators against a surging Buffalo team coming off its fourth consecutive win.



After an initial charge by the Sabres early in the first, the enators took over and applied some surgery. In a tightly checked game, the Sens had the upper hand on the offensive, and the Sabres can thank their luckky star that Ryan Miller was sharp. He roobbed the Sens at least twice if not more. But the Senators were tenacious enough and hungry enough to solve him.

First big surprise was the play of Jesse Winchester who was filling in for the injured Jason Spezza. Kinda large shoes to fill, but his plays were beautiful and he worked hard. Should the Spezza injury last a tad longer, I think he can handle the situation. Peter Regin who moved up to the second line, was also a factor. He had many chances and managed to scrape up an assist on the Mike Fisher goal.

While the power play and 4-on-4 are still a work in prgress, the penalty kill was on. Immediate clears of the zone on face-offs, denying the blue line, locking the Sabres out to the egdes, only allowing distant shots on a very sharp Brian Elliott, and immediately jumping on the puck and clearing it. The PK unit even had a few chances to attack and shoot on net. Elliott deserves a mention for his second shutout in a week. He was solid. Very, very solid.

Alexandre Picard: what a bittersweet story. The guy is amazing on the attack, registering Ottawa's first goal by following a simple tenet: put the puck on the net. Good job of Jonathan Cheechoo to have his butt parked in Miller's mask. Picard shot on net and generated rebounds in the third as well. But on the D? Pathetic. He got neatly side-stepped at least twice by the Sabres which allowed chances on Elliott. Has anyone ever thought of trying him on the wing?

Alex Kovalev worked hard tonight and showed heart, and you could see his engagement on the the Mike Fisher go, both arms raised in the air, rushing to the group hug in fron of Miller's goal mouth. He sakted well, was a pest, put on some moves to get the puck in, made great passes and shot on net. Kovalev was playing his whole repertoire intelligently and it is so refreshing to watch.

I bless the fact that the Sens never went into lead-protection mode, and kept playing 2-up and 3-back on the forecheck, which resulted in the late 3rd period goal. This type of hockey is exactly the hockey the Senators need to play again and again to go far. They seem to have found the fourth gear. They need to stay there.