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Sens Make It Two Straight by the Nosebleeders A loose, happy, ready-to-go bunch... this is how the 97-98 Senators feel as they enter the playoffs for the second straight season. The Senators organization has a lot to be proud of and thankful for as they finished the season at 34-33-15 and over .500 for the first time in 68 years. The team folded after the 1933-1934 season and returned to the NHL for the 1992-1993 season. They last had a winning record in 1930-1931 when they were 21-15-8 for 50 points and finished third out of the five teams in the league.

In addition to making the playoffs, the Senators organization may also have saved themselves from an eventual extinction. Talk in Ottawa was that the team was going to have to move leading scorer Alexei Yashin in the off-season to free up some payroll dollars. Who knows what impact moving their number one player would have on their ability to make the playoffs over the next few seasons. With playoff games said to be worth some one million plus per home game, and fans lining up for wristbands to wait in another line for tickets, the Senators making the playoffs should do a lot for team prosperity.

Last season's run for the playoffs had its buddahs and lucky charms and a team led by captain and veteran Randy Cunneyworth playing some of the best hockey of his career. Steve Duchesne led the power play and defense and had a patent on coming in from the blue line to score key goals. Ron Tugnutt was forced into action when number one goaltender Damian Rhodes went down with an injury and the Tugger almost backstopped the Senators into the second round of the playoffs. This season ended with Tugger riding the bench, Duchesne gone, and Cunneyworth in danger of losing his captaincy. The only lucky charm seems to be the team's new third jersey.

This year's club is led by the maturing Alexei Yashin (71 points). Yashin was unquestionably the season's best player and ended the year amongst the league's top-20 scorers. Yashin displayed a big improvement over last season in terms of his consistency and ability to overcome the shadow; last season he was held pointless in 45 games and this season he reduced that to 37 games. Yashin is promoted from assistant captain to captain when Cunneyworth is out of the lineup and when this occurs his play goes still a notch further. Fear of having not to dress Cunneyworth to allow Yashin to wear the captain's "C", has prompted the Senators organization to consider giving the "C" to Yashin on a permanent basis.

The Senators were hovering just outside of the playoffs for most of last season and charged the final two months of the year to overtake the Hartford Whalers. This season, expectations were much higher. The team did hover just above the playoff water mark for most of the season and a late rush by the Whalers-turned-Hurricanes could not catch them.

This season was different in other ways for the team. The goaltending tandem of Tugnutt and Rhodes played a fair share of games and both had their share of being pulled from games. After a stint on offense, rookie defensemen Chris Phillips stepped in as a sometime brilliant, sometimes dog regular and second-year defenseman Wade Redden took his game up a level. Overall the team significantly improved on defense and even got in a few shutouts along the way - an item in seasons past usually found in the other team's corner at the end of the game.

Offensively and on the power play, this season the team struggled. The play of Daniel Alfredsson was strong as was Shawn McEachern, Andreas Dackell, and in his own way tough guy Denny Lambert. Finding linemates for Alexei Yashin continues to be a struggle for coach Jacques Martin, as does finding the right combination of players on the power play. Despite an overall offense that struggled, signs were improving in the last month when the team pegged a number of come-from-behind victories.

Overall, as compared to last season, the improved Senators are more solid on defense, more mature on offense, despite having lost something both on the power play and getting production from the defense. For the Senators to win, a solid second line like the current Alfredsson-McEachern-Zholtok combination must continue to take some focus off Yashin, while Bruce Gardiner, Shaun Van Allen, and Magnus Arvedson shut down the opposition.

Last season the Sabres won their first round matchup against the Sens by a hair, scoring in overtime of Game Seven in an exciting and memorable series. This season the Senators first round challenge will be much bigger. The New Jersey Devils have not only size but a better offense, better defense, and better goaltending. They finished number one overall in the Eastern conference some 24 points ahead of the eighth place Senators.

The Devils play a patient game and have demonstrated an ability to capitalize on opposition errors - both of which pose significant challenges to the Senators who are not yet considered consistent despite their improvement. New Jersey can kill the Senators on special teams, and they play a disciplined game which may mean a higher ratio of New Jersey power-play opportunities. Combine those factors with Bobby Carpenter limiting Alexei Yashin and Martin Brodeur outplaying the Senators duo of Rhodes and Tugnutt, and New Jersey fans may just want to get the brooms ready.

Neither team enters the series with any injuries to speak of. The Senators have Jason York and Stan Neckar healing but both are expected to see action in Game One. The Devils' Doug Gilmour seems to be back in form after returning from injury.

Despite their disadvantage on paper, the Senators do have some things on their side. The Devils coasted into the playoffs with a 3-5-2 record in their final 10 games and lost out to the Dallas Stars in the race to finish first overall in the league and obtain home ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

When asked about the possibility of an early exit Senators players break into wide smiles. The Stanly Cup is known for helping create miracles and the first round of the playoffs are known for upsets. The Senators claim readiness and have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

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