The rollercoaster ride begins

That was somewhat disappointing! OK, it was VERY disappointing.

While our Sens held two one-goal leads at times during the game, it was clear that the Ducks were hustling more than the Ottawa players were. It seemed like they were hitting more, skating harder and just plain playing better.

The question that will be asked throughout the series and forever if the Ottawa Senators don't bring the glory home was asked a million times last night: was the long break in between game five of the Eastern Conference Final and game one of the Stanley Cup Finals responsible for a less than stellar effort?

As the post-game show host pointed out on Team 1200 last night, had the second Anaheim goal not gone in and had the final score been Ottawa 2 and Anaheim 1, nobody would have spent more than twenty seconds on the issue. We're now going to beat that horse flatter than any other point through to tomorrow's final buzzer.

Should we be concerned as Senators fans? Of course not - it's just one game. Good old Toronto fans announcing the game for the CBC last night pointed out that the winner of game 1 of Stanley Cup Finals have won 60% of the series... that's not too far off from 50-50, really. So take that stat and shove it, Neale and Cole.

Last night was the fourth loss in sixteen games played by the Sens in the postseason. They're now 12-4 with a .750 winning percentage. Last night was a one-goal decision - we didn't get blown out 7-1. Nobody's going to suggest that Gerber be brought in to play game two because of the big-time gaffes made by Ray Emery.

So let's continue enjoying the fact that we are one of only two teams competing for hockey's greatest trophy - we still have 2+ weeks of fun to come...

On to game #2!!