Written by Graeme Nichols | 23 March 2009

NEW YORK _ There is no chance the Senators will make the playoffs, right?
They are nine points back of the No. 8 Montreal Canadiens with 11 games to go. The club has to pass the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs. The odds are not good, but then again, the goods are pretty odd themselves!
But hey, there is a chance. The problem for the Senators if they can't afford to lose. They can't lose tonight against the New York Rangers. They won't be able to squander two points Wednesday in Raleigh. Essentially, they have to run the table and then hope.
How big are those three losses to the New York Islanders earlier this season now? Those six points would put Ottawa four points out of a playoff spot this morning. I know: Would have, could have and didn't. They all apply here but thankfully the Senators understood those are do not understand history are doomed to repeat it. They knew the game mattered and did what they failed to do earlier in the year.
They are playing better hockey under coach Cory Clouston as they walk into Madison Square Garden with seven straight wins. Sure, it's improbable, but there's a chance. It will at least make the next couple of weeks interesting. ~ Bruce Garrioch, OTP

It's funny, for a man who seemingly can't trust Brian Elliott to get the job done, Bruce is starting to believe that this team can make the Eastern Conference playoff race interesting.

With the beat writers starting to ask the players about playoff implications, the timing of the Senators current 6-game road trip couldn't be better. Away from family and away from the media, the team can bond and focus on each individual game.

The playoff question is the equivalent of the SARS virus (hopefully the Senators are not a casualty), no one wants to touch it with a 7 point pole. In this morning's Ottawa Citizen, Daniel Alfredsson sticks with it: "I think it's possible, but I'm not going to talk about it". Sure Alfie, leave the talking to us. Sure beats talking about lottery picks and rebuilding.

No more could this principle be exemplified than by regarding Alex Auld's performance last night. When Cory Clouston announced that he'd giving Auld the start in the latter half of the back-to-back games against the Rangers, it created an opportunity for fans to start second-guessing Clouston's decision before the puck was even dropped. When the Rangers scored the game's first goal off after Auld misplayed a puck behind the net, I probably wasn't the only one cursing the coach's decision. In fact, I know I wasn't. I was doing a Yahoo! fantasy baseball draft at the time and the chat room was immediately lit up with profanity. Ultimately, Auld's performance for the rest of the game atoned for that one bad goal and it's a testament to Auld's ability to relish the start and make it count.

Consequently, that's been the MO for the entire team during this stretch of recent games. It hasn't been a few guys who have shouldered the load. It's been a case of the whole being great because of the sum of its parts. Take Schubert for example - Last night after switching to defense, he played his most physical game of the season and gave the New York forwards reason to look up. (And for once it was not to check out Duff/Underwood in the pressbox). Sure, he was goated for allowing the Rangers lone goal after a miscue with Chris Campoli and Alex Auld. This is still Hockey Country - Someone always has to be singled out even after a well played victory.

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