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head coach: Jacques Martin

roster: C - Alexei Yashin, Vaclav Prospal, Radek Bonk, Sergei Zholtok, Shaun Van Allen. LW - Randy Cunneyworth, Shawn McEachern, Magnus Arvedson, Denny Lambert. RW - Daniel Alfredsson, Pat Falloon, Andreas Dackell, Bruce Gardiner, Chris Murray. D - Lance Pitlick, Chris Phillips, Wade Redden, Stan Neckar, Jason York, Janne Laukkanen, Igor Kravchuk. G - Damian Rhodes, Ron Tugnutt.

injuries: Jason York, d (cut and bruised eye, day-to-day); Stan Neckar, d (torn miniscus (knee), day-to-day).

transactions: April 16 - Vaclav Prospal returned after missing four games with facial laceration. April 13 - Janne Laukkanen returned after missing eight games with pulled groin.

standings:

Eastern Conference - Northeast Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
y-Pittsburgh 82  40  24  18    98  228  188 
x-Boston     82  39  30  13    91  221  194  
x-Buffalo    82  36  29  17    89  211  187  
x-Montreal   82  37  32  13    87  235  208  
x-Ottawa     82  34  33  15    83  193  200  
Carolina     82  33  41   8    74  200  219   

y - Clinched division
x - Clinched playoff spot

game results:

04/07  Boston       L 4-2
04/09  Pittsburgh   W 4-1
04/11  Buffalo      T 4-4
04/13  at Tampa Bay W 3-2
04/14  at Florida   W 3-2
04/16  Montreal     L 2-0
04/19  at Buffalo   W 2-1

team news:

by The Nosebleeders, Ottawa Correspondents

No Hard Feelings, Eh?

For the second year in a row, the Ottawa Senators have made it to the Dance, the Show, the Other Season, the Real Season, the Big Times....the Playoffs. And, for the second straight year, the Sens did it at the expense of the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes franchise.

For almost two months, these two teams duked it out in one of the most interesting playoff races of the season. Carolina's sudden hot streak in the stretch run - powered by Trevor Kidd's stellar netminding - offered many a diehard Senators fan a rough night's sleep.

But in the end, the Senators managed to cling to their slim lead and outlasted Carolina for the right to play top-seeded New Jersey in round uno of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

It didn't require a heart-stopping, playoff-clinching goal from Steve Duchesne in the final game of the season against the league's top goalie in Dominik Hasek, but it was nevertheless an ulcer-inducing affair, thank you very much.

"But, Sir...I Want More."

You would think that after so many years of pathetic hockey, that Sens fans across Bytown would be whooping it up just seeing their boys in the playoffs again. Not so. Go to any local watering hole, and you'll quickly discover that Sens fans demand nothing less than an upset win over the Devils, or risk proclaiming this season a failure. After all, the Sens did the 'first round thing' last year, right? That's old news, passe, fee-fi-fo-fum. Now we want a second round appearance. Then the semis, the Eastern championship, and then the Holy Ashtray. Do you see the logic here, peoples?

Granted, Ottawa fans have every right to be so demanding. After all, the Ottawa Valley is the birthplace of hockey as we know it today, and many of the NHL's greatest stars have come from this region (It's in the books. Go check it out.) After so many years of suffering from the humiliation of not having a franchise that was rightfully theirs, and then suffering through the lean years of the early-to-mid 90s, you can see why Sens fans have high hopes for their beloved.

If you're still confused, just ask any New York Yankee fan if he or she would be happy 'just to see them play good, quality baseball.' Nyet-ski. Pennants, baby. Gimme them pennants. Same goes for Ottawa in hockey.

Class dismissed.

Not Your Average, Run-of-the-Mill Drought

Not only did the Senators clinch their second consecutive playoff appearance, but they also managed to finish the season with a record above .500, notching a respectable 34-33-15 mark for a club record 83 points.

The last time a Senators franchise finished above .500 in a season? 1930....a full 68 years ago. That year, the Senators, led by Hec Kilrea, Joe Lamb, Frank Finnigan and King Clancy, finished third in the five-team league with a 21-15-8 record in 44 games.

After that, the bottom fell out for the franchise and by 1932, the team sold its star players to clubs around the league and suspended operations. The club attempted a comeback in 1933-34, but folded the following season, never to be seen or heard from again until 1992.

Sweet Mary....do we know how to kill a celebration or what?

Swampland Frolics

Sometimes, the fruits of one's labor can be bittersweet. Okay, that's about enough Shakespeare from us for one issue. But, truthfully, you have to wonder how the Sens felt when, after wrestling the final playoff berth from Carolina, they were rewarded for their efforts with a trip to New Jersey to take on the Devils in a best-of-seven.

Although Ottawa managed to secure a .500 record against the Devils this year, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that the Devils will be heavily favored in this series. In fact, even some local prognosticators are splashing scalding hot coffee on the dreams of Senator faithful, claiming a Jersey sweep in four games.

But when you look at this matchup closely (and you ignore the 24 point record differential), you slowly begin to see a lot of similarities between the two clubs. Both play a solid forechecking style of hockey. And both rely on hard-earned goals from chippy forwards and stay-at-home defensemen.

The big difference? Make a mistake against the Devils, and they'll kill you. A turnover in the neutral zone, a foolish penalty, a missed assignment...whatever. Give New Jersey an inch, and they'll take a mile, as the saying goes. As for Ottawa, we've lost count how many times they've walked away from a 5-on-3 power play empty-handed.

So if Ottawa wishes to stick it to the Devils, their only hope is to play smart, conservative hockey. Minimize turnovers and capitalize on the rare Devil miscues. Otherwise, this could very well be a four-game sweep.

Coulda Been, Shoulda Been..But It Ain't

After clinching a playoff berth in their third to last game of the year versus Florida, the Sens actually had a great chance to overtake Montreal for seventh place. Facing the Habs just two days later and trailing by only three points, Ottawa couldn't find the energy to outlast the Canadiens, and were blanked 2-0 at the hands of Andy Moog and the boys. A victory would have made a date with Pittsburgh very probable. Instead, the loss booked a date with the Devils.

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day, Phil

It took five years, but we can finally gloat to Phil Esposito and the boys in Tampa. Think back to 1992 when Ottawa and Tampa were awarded franchises in the NHL. Tampa chose to lunge for the veterans in the spirit of becoming contenders almost immediately. The Sens - realizing the nightmarish effects such a plan could exact on a team's future - decided to practice patience, building a team through the draft despite the collective grumblings of Sens fans demanding a better on-ice product.

And here we are today - the Sens in the playoffs for the second straight year, boasting one of the youngest teams in the league, with young stars like Yashin, Alfredsson, Redden and Phillips getting better with age. Meanwhile, in Tampa, this is a franchise headed nowhere fast.

So on behalf of all Sens fans, Phil, we'd like to say one thing - pphhhhhhtttt.

A Dilemma of Sorts

This is Dave writing, one half of the famed Nosebleeder duo. I have a problem, and I need your help. You see, I was born and raised in Ottawa, have lived here all of my life, and I've rooted for the home team since Day 1. But I have this pesky little virus that I cannot seem to shake. Deep within my heart, I still hold a small but sweet spot for the team I cheered for back in the days when there were no Ottawa Senators: New Jersey. Quite the conundrum, if I do say so myself. For the first five years, I never had to worry about a possible Devils-Sens playoff series. After all, New Jersey was light years ahead of Ottawa in terms of talent and playoff potential. But now, here I sit, debating which team to root for. Sure, I'll cheer when Ottawa scores, but instinct may get the best of me when Gilmour pops a few through the twine.

My only solution, as of today, is rather drastic: I run away to a Tibetan monastery and vow never to return until the series is over. But then I realized that Tibet doesn't serve nachos in any of its fine eateries, so I ixnayed on the plans.

So, you see my problem here. If you have any suggestions, please email them to me quickly. After all, Game 1 is only a few short days away.

Trivia Time

As mentioned earlier, the last time Ottawa notched a .500 plus record was way back in 1930, when they finished in third place in the five-team NHL. Can you name the other four teams that busted heads with Ottawa that year? Answer at the end of this column.

This, That and the Other Thing

Random notes from the Sens camp during the final two weeks of the season:

Boston 4 Ottawa 2

* Sens goalie Damian Rhodes had one of his off-nights, giving up a hat trick to Steve Heinze on just ten shots. Rhodes was pulled by the start of the second period.

* To make matters worse, injury-prone Vaclav Prospal took a Daniel Alfredsson slap shot in the face and needed 25 stitches to close the wound.

* With the loss, Ottawa continued its miserable streak against Boston, notching a 0-4-2 record on the season.

The Chase: Ottawa 74 pts Carolina 72

Ottawa 4 Pittsburgh 1

* The key to Ottawa's win was penalty-killing. Ottawa shut the door on the Pens in eight power play opportunities.

* After their lackluster performance against Boston, the Sens came out flying against Pittsburgh, as Bruce Gardiner opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the game.

* Rhodes picked up the win for Ottawa, his first home win in over a month and first time in four tries that he was able to finish a start at home.

* The victory set a Senators record for most home points in a season with 42 and tied a club record for wins with 31.

* Igor Kravchuk's holding call on Brad Werenka was only his fourth minor penalty of the season. Do we hear Lady Byng calling?

* That truck you saw barreling over Andreas Johansson and Alexei Morozov in a span of a few seconds was none other than Radek Bonk. Yes, Bonk. No, your eyesight is not going on you.

The Chase: Ottawa 76 pts Carolina 74

Buffalo 4 Ottawa 4

* Ottawa blew a brilliant opportunity to create real estate between them and Carolina. The Sens jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead by the end of the first, only to then sit back and watch the Sabres chip their way back into the game. The Sens, in fact, were lucky to escape with a point.

* Game-tying goal came courtesy of Damian Rhodes. Unable to handle the puck behind the net, Rhodes tried to whack at it as it bounced out in front of the empty Sens net. Rather than clear the puck, Rhodes slapped it right onto Sabres forward Curtis Brown's stick, which then ricocheted into the net.

* The Sabres' third goal of the game came on a penalty shot after Dixon Ward was hauled down on a breakaway. The call was questionable, much like many of the other calls referee Don Koharski made throughout the evening (see Geoff Sanderson: The Art of Diving on HBO, Saturday at 8pm).

The Chase: Ottawa 77 pts Carolina 74

Ottawa 3 Tampa 2

* After blowing a huge lead against Buffalo, Ottawa received a gift from the schedule maker with an easy 3-2 win over their weaker expansion sisters from Tampa Bay.

* Ron Tugnutt, making his first start in six games, was the key to the Sens victory, stopping 27 of 29 shots - including 17 of 19 in the second period alone, en route to the victory.

* The win, coupled with Carolina's 3-2 loss in Boston, reduced the Sens magic number to one.

* Defenseman Jason York took 14 stitches over the eye after being high-sticked by Tampa putz Andrei Nazarov in the third period.

The Chase: Ottawa 79 Carolina 74

Ottawa 3 Florida 2

* A repeat of the Tampa Bay game both in score and in entertainment (read: zippo). But more importantly, with the win, Ottawa clinches the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

* The win also bumped Ottawa's record versus Florida to 5-0-2 over the last seven games.

The Chase: Over...Ottawa 81 Carolina 74

Montreal 2 Ottawa 0

* As mentioned earlier, this game presented Ottawa with a glorious opportunity to vault past Montreal into seventh place. Instead, Ottawa came out flat, registering only 22 butterflies towards Andy Moog, who promptly shut the door to help power his Habs to victory and lock up seventh place.

* On paper, Ottawa was the home team in this contest. But in reality, you would have been hard-pressed to believe that. The cheering that accompanied Brian Savage's game-winning goal was nothing short of embarrassing to Senators brass ... on national television to boot! Which only proves, old Hab-its are hard to break (it's late, we're tired, bear with us, will ya?)

* Prior to the game, Alexei Yashin was presented with the Molson Cup for most three-star selections in the year. Yashin finished with 107 points, a full 47 points ahead of runner-up Damian Rhodes.

* Message board at the Corel Centre gave Sergei Gonchar an assist on the Habs' first goal, which is fine and dandy, except for the fact that Gonchar plays for Washington.

* Vaclav Prospal, who was hit in the face by a puck in the Boston game, returned for the Habs matchup. In total, various injuries have forced Prospal to miss over 30 games this year. "This has been the worst season of my career," he summed up rather nicely.

For What It's Worth: Ottawa 81 Carolina 74

Ottawa 2 Buffalo 1

* Funny how a game that, for weeks many thought would be crucial to the Sens playoffs hopes, can so quickly dissolve into a meaningless rendez-vous. How much concern did both teams invest in this game, especially after Boston's 2-1 win over Philly early in the afternoon shut Buffalo out of fifth place? Said Lance Pitlick: "We should call Buffalo and cancel the game. We could each get a point."

* Both Sens goals were scored by Shawn McEachern, who finished the year with an impressive total of 24 twine-bulgers.

* Sens backstop Damian Rhodes is putting his post-season face on early. Prior to the Sabres game, Rhodes shunned any media that approached him, abiding by his newly-conceived 'closed-mouth policy' on game days.

For What It's Worth: Ottawa 83 Carolina 74. End of season.

Drumroll Please

The 1930-31 season saw Ottawa line up against the Montreal Maroons, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Americans.

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