It certainly wasn't the way the Ottawa Senators wanted to close out their five game stay at Scotiabank Place.
Despite an ugly 4-0 loss at the hands of the rival Leafs, the Senators racked up 6 of a possible 10 points on the homestand and now hit the road for seven straight as the Women's World Hockey Championships takes over the rink in Kanata for the next two weeks.
The Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs will play the fourth installment of five in their season series.
It has been a long time since the so called Battle of Ontario was this important late in the NHL season. The Sens hold a two point edge on the Leafs for fifth place in the tight Eastern Conference. Massive game at Scotiabank Place tonight.
The Ottawa Senators were back on the practice ice this morning ahead of a huge game against the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night at Scotiabank Place.
The Sens hold a slim two point lead over their division and provincial rival with Ottawa having played one less game. Not that a Saturday night Leafs/Sens contest needs any extra excitement but you can guarantee the Bank will be rocking tomorrow night as the two teams play one of the bigger games between the Ontario rivals in recent memory.
The eighth place New York Rangers rolled into Scotiabank Place holding the 8th spot in the East and should have been a desperate hockey team.
But the Ottawa Senators matched that desperation level on Thursday night, cruising to a 3-0 win and improving their record on home ice to an incredible 13-2-3. Benoit, Latendresse and Greening scored the goals and Ben Bishop stopped all 24 Ranger shots for his first shutout of the season.
Finally home from my Vancouver trip and not a moment too soon as the Sens get set to play another huge game in their push for an Eastern Conference playoffs spot.
Tonight's opposition is Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers. The Blueshirts come into this game trailing the Ottawa Senators by just seven points and with a game in hand. The Rangers are holding down the 8th and final spot while the Senators are a little more comfortable in 5th.
Everytime I take a trip somewhere or am away from the computer, the Senators News seems to pick up.
It has been another pretty busy day for the Ottawa Senators including the loss of a locker room favourite and a couple interesting updates on the injury front. Add to that the fact that the New York Rangers are in town tomorrow and there is ovbviously plenty to talk about.
(UPDATE 6:49 PM)- The Ottawa Senators made their third roster move of the day, recalling forward Mike Hoffman from Binghamton of the American Hockey League. Earlier today the team put forward Kaspars Daugavins on waivers and returned forward Dave Dziurzynski to Binghamton.
The Ottawa Senators look to continue their home ice domination when they play the third game in a crucial five game homestand.
Tonight's opposition is the New Jersey Devils- a team that currently sits in 7th in the Eastern Conference, just four points back of the 5th place Senators. There all big at this time of year but obviously another crucial two points on the line at Scotiabank Place tonight.
I guess I should begin by apologizing for the title of this post. Anything "headed" anywhere this close to deadline day likely put a scare into some of you.
Just a quick post for now though as I'm at the Ottawa airport waiting to board a flight to the West Coast. While I will be in Vancouver for the next few days, I'll do my best to keep the site up to date while away. Sens are off today but are back at it tomorrow night when they host the New Jersey Devils.
The Ottawa Senators play the second game in a five game homestand this afternoon when they play host to Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Sens are coming off a heartbreaking last minute loss to the Boston Bruins and will be looking to get back on track with the lowly Lightning in town. Tampa Bay's last game was a 4-2 set back against the Leafs on Wednesday night.