The Ottawa Senators faced basically a must win game against the Anaheim Ducks last night, and managed to come away with a victory. Entering the game, the Senators were down two games to none and did not look like a Stanley Cup Finals team. That all changed last night when the Senators pulled off an impressive 5-3 victory at home over the Ducks.

The Senators had to battle back despite being down by a goal on three different occasions. That is exactly what you need to see out of a team to assume they have any chance of winning the series. At home, the Senators were able to rally the fans behind them and make this comeback. They were spurred on by a cheap shot in the second period by defenseman Chris Pronger. Pronger attacked a Senators player, and after a cheap shot to the head which somehow wasn’t called a penalty, the Senators really came out for blood. There were a series of brawls and the hitting really stepped up. The Senators got a goal off what appeared to have been a kick in, but upon review the referees ruled it clean, and that’s good enough to get them a win.

The Senators will look to capitalize on their success and win their next game at home to even up the series. Before the year even began, a lot of people were crowning the Ducks the champions, and when the finals matchup was announced I think most people just assumed they would win. With a few more performances like last night, the Senators are going to make sure that doesn’t happen too easily.

In a recent Oakland Raiders Ottawa Senators game, Renee Luck was anything but lucky. The female Sabres fan was reportedly punched in the face during game four of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals, which the Sabres won. The Senators chief operating officer, Cyril Leeder, has decided to make things right, offering Luck tickets for game six if the Sabres pull out a win in today’s game five. A local hotel has also promised her a free room.

Luck’s face was swollen and cut after she was assaulted by two men as she and a group of friends were leaving their seats at Scotiabank Place. Luck was rescued by other Senators fans.

“We don’t condone that kind of activity,” Leeder said after the team arrived in Buffalo in preparation for Game 5 on Saturday. “This is the least we should be doing in this case.”

It just goes to show that there’s assholes everywhere, whether it’s in America, Europe, or even Canada. I’d say that’s quite an overreaction, considering the Senators were still up 3-1 after their loss. Why slug an opposing fan, especially when she’s a woman? It’s good to see some Senators fans came to their opponent’s rescue. If this was Europe, I doubt that would happen. Some neutral bystander would have probably taken a plastic chair to her head, ala WWE.

Of course, we won’t know the whole story and we probably never will. Luck may have been prancing around talking junk and/or defacing the Canada flag. But she was probably just happily exiting the arena, celebrating her team’s win. Rearranging her face isn’t necessary.

Let’s be completely honest, hardly anyone watches hockey anymore. And really, the only reason they do is for the hits and the fights, sounds a bit like NASCAR to me. During the Buffalo Sabres v. Ottawa Senators game last night we got both of those. Chris Drury was flat laid out on what may or may not have been a dirty hit, which has put him out indefinitely with a probably concussion. Buffalo promptly responded by sending out 5 of their best goons to throw down, and what happens next is in the video below. Take particular note of the goalie fight, followed by the Sabres forward entering the fray against the goalie. High comedy.