Any more excuses for the Sens?

Game 2 is about to start, so I'm a little behind on my game 1 thoughts, but I needed a couple days to get all the excuses out of our friends to the north...

If you're a hockey fan, then you know 90% of your news comes from Canada. With a Canadian team in the finals, that media is going to slant to said Canadian team. (No real shock there...unless you're Damien Cox, I guess.)

So, in the last two days, here's what I learned about game 1:

• The Ducks have re-introduced obstruction to the game, and the New NHL turned a blind eye to it. (0 interference calls were made on the Ducks, 1 on the Senators. Interesting...)
• When the Ducks weren't keeping the Sens out of the offensive zone, they were running Ray Emery. Goalie contact this season isn't a new gripe, but if the puck is free, the guys pursuing it are going to pursue it pretty hard.
• And the latest entry in the Sens downfall...Bad Ice. Excellent!

In the Game 1 I watched, I saw the Sens jump out to an early lead on a power play. I saw the Ducks not panic, and then watched them step up the pressure. The forecheck was a thing of beauty as the game wore on. The Sens capitalized on another power play opportunity (they're going to get a few), and the Ducks again didn't panic. The forecheck continued, and the checking line of Moen, Neidermeyer, Pahlsson did an outstanding job at both ends of the ice.

I didn't see the obstruction, I saw the Ducks beating the Sens to a lot of pucks. I did notice a lot of action around and on top of Emery, but the puck spent a lot of time in that end of the ice. I didn't notice bad ice, but as it turns out both teams played on the same sheet of ice.

Here's to a great Game 2, hopefully every bit as great as Game 1. And if the Ducks win, I can hardly wait for the excuse parade on why the Sens lost rather than why the Ducks won.