Pens Shuout Sens; Lead 1-0

The Pens looked dominating last night, the Sens a little less so. Sure the PP failed to put the Sens away, they were shorthanded too often and Whitney continues to fumble the puck away, but those factors were insignificant in the end. Pens win 4-0 and the Sens have to really be wondering about themselves.

I expect the Sens to come out harder on Friday but how hard can thy bring it anymore? Lots of injuries and a stunning lack of confidence could spell an early doom, which is how it sounds from around the internets this morning:

• It was pretty much a nightmare for the Sens last night.
  
• Alfredsson not totally ruled out of series
• If you are feeling sorry for the pitiful Sens this morning, our playoff yahoo (seems like a recurring problem) Donnie Brennan will get your blood boiling again with another "article" aimed at agitating. Brennan is doing his job about as well as Chris Neil did last night.
  
• From the Trib:
  

  Heading into last night, they were 17-23 overall in openers, including a pedestrian 10-10 record at home. When they win the first game of a series at home, however, they have been able to close things out. They are 7-3 in series in which they retain home-ice advantage in the first game, 5-5 when they lose Game 1 at home and 12-8 overall when they have home-ice advantage.

• Let's hope the new arena also has a new, modern ice-making machine:
  

  Poor ice conditions at Mellon Arena have been a point of contention all season for the Penguins, and it hasn't improved in the postseason. "In the morning there was no crowd and there was no heat and it was pretty bad," Penguins forward Maxime Talbot said. "Both teams have to play on it, and it's not an advantage for either team."

• If you still think the Senators are one play or win away from becoming dangerous, even good, here is a great chart showing how each team fared in each quarter of the season. Teams don't play that bad for half a season and all of a sudden turn it around. Only the Isles and Thrashers have fewer points in the Wales Conference in the 2nd half than the Sens.
  
  
• From TSN host James Duthie:
  

  Okay, so what happens when Martin Gerber plays poorly?
  
  For all of you who believed there was some magic playoff pixie dust Bryan Murray could sprinkle on his team and wipe away the mess of the last five months, sorry.
  
  It is what it is. Or, the Senators are what they are: a wounded, shattered, lost, hockey team. The 4-0 score was kind.
  
  I know. You should never judge a series by the first game. Things can happen. Momentum can change. But there is a sense of inevitability creeping in here. The shots of all the injured Senators sitting helpless in the luxury box spoke volumes. It was questionable whether they could have won with them. Without them, a one-game hole seems like a canyon.

• WWGRD? He definitely wouldn't discriminate based on age.