Phah.

So it's over. My Ottawa Senators have been defeated in overtime, losing the Eastern Conference semi-finals to the Buffalo Sabres 4 games to 1. Winger Jason Pominville scored on a short-handed overtime goal. Hey, at least he's a Canadian kid.

I hate to say it, but good for Buffalo. They sure outplayed the Sens. Not that they necessarily had to; Ottawa made too many mistakes, too many turnovers, too many blind passes in the first two games, and it cost them.

In hockey, like life in general I suppose, you can't undo your mistakes. You have to live with them, and if they hurt you down the road, you can't say you didn't deserve it.

Interesting to note is that Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson shaved his playoff beard today. That tells me that if superstition is fake, it sure acts real from time to time. I wonder which team he'll be playing for next season? How about trying to scoop up UFA Joe Sakic from Colorado? Hmm.

I'm getting very good at recovering from CPDS (Consistent Playoff Defeat Syndrome). I've had a lot of practice.

I'm still a Sens fan, and that will never change. But for the rest of this Stanley Cup run, I think I'll be cheering for Buffalo. Usually I'll cheer for the team that plays the team that beat my team (got that?), but I hold no ill will against the Sabres. They earned this by playing tight in both ends.

Of course, I'll never be so gracious towards the Leafs. Pi-tooey.