The Buffalo Butter Knives

The Ottawa Senators are on the verge of sweeping the Buffalo Sabres tonight at 7 pm, and are 60 minutes away from making their first appearance, in modern team history, in the Stanley Cup Finals.

As a Sens fan I'm very excited about this possibility since the team itself is playing with the type of drive, determination and confidence not seen in playoff year's past.

I had the privelege of attending Game 3 vs the Sabres on Monday night. I sat 12 rows behind the players' bench, and next to Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien no less. The atmosphere was amazing and the game was very good. When a team is forechecking agressively, hitting hard, backchecking, blocking shots and creating lots of scoring chances, it's simply a treat to watch.

I must admit that I would have never predicted that the Sabres would be down 3-0 going into tonight's game. My expectation, and everyone elses as well, was that this series would be hard fought back and fourth hockey we'd come to expect from these two teams this season. The only glimmer of hope in every game for the Sabres has been Ryan Miller.

And kudos to Ray Emery. He's now shutout every team once in every series. What a difference last year's playoffs and this season have made in regards to his game play, his confidence and his temper. He's also 11-2 in these playoffs.

And finally, the #1 line for the Sens is actually it's #1 line! Spezza, Heatley and Alfreddsson are 3 of the top 4 players in the Playoffs right now in regards to point production. The remaining 3 lines are also producing points, although not as many, however they're still contributing in a big way by creating chances and hitting every Sabre that's on the ice. In Game 3, every Ottawa Senator except one (Mike Comrie), had a shot on Ryan Miller.

Game 4 should be very exciting tonight and the energy level will be through the roof. There's a campaign going on to change Elgin Street in downtown Ottawa to the 'Sens Mile'. After the Sens win tonight, there's a party going on that starts at approximately 10 pm that lasts until 1 am. Don't know if I'll make it (some of us have to work), but I'll certainly try.

GO SENS GO