The Senators got to see the other side Tuesday and it's a safe bet they didn't enjoy it. After pulling off the huge upset last year against the Devils, the Senators were on the other end of things as they were upset by Dominik Hasek and the Buffalo Sabers. Hasek pulled off another 40 save performance as Ottawa outplayed the Sabers everywhere but in goal once again.

Hasek, who has been critisized for not playing up to gis pottential in the playoffs, showed the NHL just why he is the two time MVP of the league as he single handedly beat the Senators in the first round.
"(Last Night) and the first game, you don't have to be a genius to figure out the difference." said Sens coach Jacques Martin, refering to Hasek stealing games from the Senators.

It looked like Ottawa would fold in this one after falling behind 3-1 and 4-2 in this game but the Sens pulled to within one goal on both occasions and nearly tied it up on a few tough shots which Hasek managed to get in the way off. After Rasmussen and Varada made it 2-0 in the first, Jason York pulled the Sens to within one when he scored at 6:24 of the second. Varada and McEachern both exchanged goals in the second before Zhitnik and Emerson traded off goals in the third.

The loss is a tough blow to the Senators who set team records just about everywhere they could including 44 wins and 103 points. Unfortunantly, this great season will have a sour taste to it due to their playoff loss and the poor play of a pottential MVP candidate, Alexei Yashin. Yashin was held off the scoresheet the entire series and will have to face the wrath of the Ottawa fans and media.


The Price of Winning

While the Ottawa Senators have the second best record in the NHL, it's hard to tell if they'll be able to keep this team together for multiple Stanley Cup runs. The Senators have 11 pottential free agents after the season and with the season this team is having, you can bet that they'll all want hefty pay hikes. Among the pottential free agents are: Wade Redden, Janne Laukkanen, Jason York, Magnus Arvedson, Damian Rhodes, Radek Bon, Bruce Gardiner, Vaclav Prospal and Sami Salo. If the Sens want to keep them all, it will cost them between 5 or 6 million US more, something which will be imposible for a team already losing money with it's current 20 million dollar payroll. To make matters worse, after next season Alexi Yashin and Chris Phillips will be asking for new deals.

The problem with this is that a player such as Wade Redden could get an offer sheet from a rich American team like the Rangers which the Senators would be unnable to match. While it would cost Ottawa around 2 million to resign him, the Rangers could offer 20 million over 5 years on a front-loaded deal which the Senators could not match. That is, unless they get tax breaks.

The Senators pay in much in taxes to the gvt as all American teams put together. In addition, Ottawa had to pay for a highway ramp to it's new arena while in the States, gvts routinely build entire arenas for their teams. Once you throw the exchange rate in, it makes it hard for teams like the Senators to compete, and the situation gets bleaker when both Montreal and Calgary are forced to deal their stars to American teams because they can't afford them. While the Senators will make a run at the cup this year, baring tax breaks, they won't be able to over the next few years.