WOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
OK, so it's only one game, but it was a decisive Sens win over the nervous, shaky Penguins, and if we play every game like that, we're going to be fine. Strangely enough, it was the supporting cast in Senators colours that stole the show last night, with goals coming from Andrej Meszaros, Chris Kelly, Tom Preissing, Chris Neil & Mike Comrie. Dany Heatley was the only "big gun" to light it up for the Sens, and for me, that's a good sign. That means we still have all kinds of firepower yet to be seen...And for Pittsburgh, that can't be a good thing.
That being said, I am going to the game on Saturday, so that does not bode well for the boys. The Sens hardly ever win when I'm in attendance. Also, it's an afternoon game, and they rarely do well when they have to play before supper. Furthermore, Sid the Kid was pretty darned cranky by the end of last night's game, along with a few of his teammates, so you can bet they'll look a lot less nervous and a lot more determined come game time on Saturday.
It will be interesting to see if the Penguins go with Fleury again for the next game, after pulling him in the third in favour of Jocelyn Thibault. Fleury was very shaky off the hop last night, letting in 2 quick goals, but then he settled down and looked pretty good for most of two periods. It wasn't until the third that the Sens blew things open and Fleury was pulled from between the pipes. The Penguins did look nervous last night in the opening frame, but none looked more nervous than Fleury.
I can't be worrying too much about the next game, though, because there were a lot of positives on the Sens' side of things. Lots of goals, hard hitting, strong fore-checking, passion, grit, and heart - they were all on display last night, and Game #1 couldn't have gone better for my boys.
Can't wait for Saturday!!
