I sometimes wonder of the old King Clancy curse is not still hard at work on the Senators. For those not in the know, King Clancy was traded to the Toronto Maples Leafs in 1930, and vowed that the Senators would not lift the Cup for at least 20 years after his death. How else do you explain what's preventing the puck from finding the back of the net? Tha game against the Canadiens was a great case in point.

The Senators can't find a way to get into the slot cleanly. The Senators spent nearly half the second period with a man in the box. The Senators top players can't score, and we have to rely on Nick Foligno and Chris Kelly for our offense for the past four games. Add to that the fact that it looked like Pascal Leclaire had injured himself again - thankfuly, just a broken skate blade - forcing a cold Brian Elliot into the net.

Is it bad skills, rotten luck or a cursed team? One has to ask because the Senators looked like they were playing well and fought the Montreal Canadiens - the third best team in the league - to a standstill in the first periodd. They were excellent there. But how do you explain pucks that won't settle to allow for a shot on goal as hapened to Daniel Alfredsson who had a perfect two-on-one with Jason Spezza. The fact that all three Canadiens goal were unassisted tells you that it wasn't organized play that defeated the Senators. It was individual effort on lucky breaks. Unfortunately, the lucky breaks seem to be going the other way.

Perhaps all King Clancy needs to release us from the curse is an apology. Francis Michael Clancy, on behalf of all Ottawans past and present, I would like to apologize for the stupidity of the Ottawa Senators for trading you to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1930. It was a boner move.

Please allow the Senators to score and win the Stanley Cup again.