Let's Make It Five, Baby: Senators 2, Predators 0

(Source: AP)

So, guys, I'm running out of positive superlatives here! Help me out?

Now, mind you, obviously I am happy about said lack of superlatives! Another Senators win was exactly what I needed after a crappy weekend overall and finding out that due largely to my own stupidity I missed out on an OBC liveblog tonight. I wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch under my hockey blanket and watch a good solid effort, and thankfully the boys were happy to deliver.

I'm wondering more and more about this Cory Clouston dude - seriously, what is he putting in their Gatorade? The team that couldn't score is suddenly lighting it up in bunches; the team that couldn't skate is running rings around opponents. And they're having fun doing it! At several points tonight TSN showed the Sens' bench and they were smiling, grinning actually, laughing and joking with each other. It's awesome to see them so loose and happy.

Ottawa came out of the gate with passion and determination, and the Predators just couldn't come up with an answer for that. Nick Foligno seems like a man on a mission these days and he delivered again tonight, slipping the puck past Preds goalie Pekka Rinne for the game-winning goal. Then the big line ground into action and got rewarded, with Dany Heatley putting one in off a beautiful Jason Spezza feed. As excited as I was to see all this, I wasn't quite sure whether or not it could last. I expected we'd need at least another couple of goals to nail it down.

But once again the Sens surprised me. (I really should have learned by now not to have any expectations, particularly after the Minnesota game, but what can I say - old habits die hard.) In the second and third periods they simply clamped down, taking over the neutral zone completely and being masterful on the penalty kill. Nashville was barely able to get a sniff and when they did, either there was a defenseman down to block the shot or Alex Auld was there to stop it. And thus, another lovely two points earned.

Of course, there are still areas to work on and stuff that could be improved. Our power play was utterly abysmal this game, and in fact we allowed the Predators two or three shorthanded chances on which they could easily have scored were it not for Auld's brilliance. The plays that the Sens seem to be able to coordinate so well even strength and on the penalty kill somehow fall apart once we're a man up, and I'm willing to bet that we'd be no better on 5-on-3 were we given the opportunity. Still, it's a work in progress and I recognize that. And believe me, I am impressed enough with Clouston's impact on the boys already that I'm perfectly willing to handwave that sort of thing as long as we continue to improve.

Are the playoffs within our grasp at this point? Well, I don't know. That's one branch of optimism into which I'm not sure I can venture. The statistic I've heard quoted most often is that we'd need to win 21 of the next 28 games in order to amass enough points, and meanwhile other teams on the bubble would have to start losing. Certainly this has happened with Montreal, the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, but can it happen with all the other clubs we have to get by? Maybe. Maybe not.

Much as I hate to say it, I think one of the most telling things about these new Senators will be how they react when they do eventually lose in regulation time. It's bound to happen at some point, and I really hope it doesn't dash their confidence into pieces. I hope they remember what they've achieved and what can yet be achieved so that they can move on and we can work towards ending this Annus Horribilis.

That's my wish. It remains to be seen whether it will be granted.

Miracles Happen, Once in A While: Sens 5, Wild 3

(Source: Yahoo Sports)

Well. What to say about this one.

A game in which it looked like the end had been written before the beginning was five minutes old. A game in which the Good Guys were behind 3-0 by the end of the first period. A game in which your blogger is not ashamed to say she lost hope, and lost it fairly early on. After all, past experience hadn't exactly given her reason to be hopeful. She's an optimist by nature - bespeaking the title of her blog - but she is also a realist. And a realist could not have any perspective but that of, "Well, three to zip, that's it, it's over, they're not coming back."

But she forgot something. What she forgot is that this team is no longer the same team it was even two weeks ago. This is a team coached by Cory Clouston, who somehow, in some way, has the magic touch. We need to accept the fact that all our previous preconceptions mean almost nothing now. They'll lose more games, undoubtedly. Undoubtedly we'll play badly in the future. But for now, for tonight, we need to enjoy this. It's been a long time coming.

In the first period there was nothing to indicate that such a comeback might be in the offing. The Wild scored one minute and fifteen seconds into it and everything just went downhill from there. The defense was shaky, the offense was nonexistent and Brian Elliot ... well, the less said the better, unfortunately. He looked nervous right from the get-go and ended up letting in three goals on twelve shots. You could tell by the way he was handling the puck that he was not confident in either himself or his ability to stop much, and in my opinion he absolutely deserved to be pulled after the third goal went in. It really hurts to say that, but there you go. He had a bad game and I'm just glad that they didn't leave him in there to suffer; such a move could really have ended up hurting his confidence. Instead, in went Alex Auld, who proved himself rock-solid through the second and third.

What happened next ... well, you can quote all the incredible statistics you like. The commentators on Team 1200 are doing exactly that as I type these words. Before tonight Minnesota hadn't allowed a shorthanded goal all season at home. That's ALL SEASON. The Sens had never won a game after being down after a period. For all intents and purposes we should not be sitting here talking like we are. But, we are. Brian Lee and Antoine Vermette started off the fairy tale by scoring in the second, and just before the buzzer to end it Chris Phillips banged one in off a two-on-one, shorthanded. The game was tied 3-3.

I went into the kitchen to do the dishes between periods, and I hadn't quite finished as the game came back on. I didn't even see the goal that put us ahead; I just heard my boyfriend yelling from the living room and ran in with my hands still dripping to watch as Daniel Alfredsson, oh captain our captain, went down on another two-on-one, again shorthanded, and slipped the puck past Josh Harding (Nicklas Backstrom having been pulled earlier on) for a 4-3 lead. Unbelievable.

Of course I didn't think it would last. There was no way. The hockey gods had ratcheted up the tension and would surely dash our hopes against the rocks at their first opportunity. But somehow, as the commentators put it, we managed to out-Minnesota Minnesota. The boys clamped down defensively, while simultaneously making sure to get just enough offensive pressure to keep from being dominated completely. There were some nailbiting moments, absolutely, moments when I jumped off the couch swearing at them and screaming at them to PLEASE get it out or stop it or ... something. The Sens stood firm, though, and Dany Heatley's empty net goal put the icing on the cake for a 5-3 victory.

I honestly don't know what to say at this point. What to believe. Are we out of the woods? Really, truly out of the woods? Will our fortunes rise, probably not enough to carry us into the playoffs but maybe, just maybe, to provide us enough momentum to go into next season on a positive note? Will Clouston continue to work his magic? There isn't any reason to suspect that the answer to any of those questions is "no," but I've been burned too many times, coerced too many times into thinking we've hit rock bottom only to be proven brutally otherwise. Tonight, though, I think I deserve a treat, and so I will permit myself some of my vaunted optimism. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

Have a drink, folks, on this Valentine's Day. A celebratory drink. Goodness knows we've earned it.

Note: 1) Congratulations to Shean Donovan, who played his 900th NHL game tonight! You couldn't have picked a better one, man. 2) I wasn't going to mention this before, because I am of course oh-so-modest about these sorts of things, but what the heck. We're all feeling good tonight, so I would like to point out that the Senators have not lost a game in regulation time since I began this blog. Yes, I AM TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS STREAK OF AWESOMENESS, YO. Well, kidding, mostly. But I can gloat just a little.