You really couldn't have asked much more from the Ottawa Senators. Playing the maddeningly boring New Jersey devils, the Sens peppered whizz goalie Martin Brodeur repeatedly, and could only solve him twice. In a game where the Sens outplayed the opposition and were tight on the checking, Brodeur and Lady Luck made the difference.

I have no idea how the Devils' last goal managed to go in, how a puck fired in from beyond the blue line can flip up that much and like a WWII skip bomb, find the back of the net. But it did, and with the Devils playing their trap (patent pending), there was not much to be done.

Strangely, Devils coach Jacques Lemaire was quoted as saying the New Jersey sqaud and the Sens play a very similar game, but I don't see it. The Devils fold back so tightly around the crease on the defensive that it's nearly impossible for anyone to sneak in there. Conversely, the Senators allowed at least one goal by letting a Devil slip through their guard.

The Sens mistakes are now few and far between, and the team is rolling along like a well oiled machine. As the season progresses and the teams mesh more and more, small bounces, and those crazy pucks make a huge difference in the games. Another difference maker are the specialty team. The Sens are still having problems on the power play, althought heir penalty kill is excellent.

The third line of Chris Kelly, Jarkko Ruutu, and Jonathan Cheechoo was once again instrumental, including a beautiful heads up play by Chris Kelly for the long perfectly placed pass to Ruutu for the Senators second and final goal.I have very little more to say about this game because a New Jersey game is not bound to be an exciting game.