Sergei Gonchar made $5.5 million with the Sens in 2013, and becomes a free agent on July 5. (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Fans of the Dallas Stars have been waiting to see how new GM Jim Nill would make his mark on the team.

They probably weren’t expecting a trade for a 39-year-old defenseman to be his first move.

The Stars today acquired the rights to Sergei Gonchar from the Ottawa Senators for a conditional sixth-round pick. It’s believed that the condition is that he signs with the team.

If that’s the case, this is a no-risk move for the Stars. Gonchar, who made $5.5 million with the Sens in 2013, becomes a free agent July 5. He’s been in talks with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL, and it’s a safe bet they’d be willing to pay him a lot more than Dallas. But it’s thought that playing at home is a back-up plan and he’d prefer to play in North America. The Stars are willing to give him two years, but nowhere near the $7 million per he’s reportedly by offered by Magnitogorsk. So, if he’s willing to sign for considerably less, he’ll get the chance to finish off his career in the NHL.

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James Neal (center) scored a hat trick in the Penguins’ 6-2 Game 5 win. (Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

When the Senators had a parade of players hauled on to the injured reserve, they were expected to sink. When they dropped five in a row in early April, people thought their postseason hopes were gone. And yet Ottawa found ways to win games, make it to the playoffs, make it past the first round.

Well, after a season of exceeding expectations and proving doubters wrong, Ottawa finally reached the end of its line; after 58 games, the Senators just could not muster any more of their magic this year, and their surprisingly excellent season ended Friday night as they fell to Pittsburgh, 6-2, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Captain Daniel Alfredsson’s remarks after Game 4 — he had intimated that the end was imminent for his team, that he didn’t think it was likely his Senators could come back — turned out to be spot on. “With their depth and power play right now, you know, it doesn’t look too good,” Alfredsson said.

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By Allan Muir

We know this much about the Ottawa Senators. Placed on a slab and fitted for a toe tag early this season after Jason Spezza, Craig Anderson and Erik Karlsson were dispatched to the long-term IR, this team hopped off and danced a jig on its own grave just to prove everyone wrong. So maybe writing the Sens’ obituary before they have a chance to play Game 5 in Pittsburgh tonight is a bit foolish.

Granted, Daniel Alfredsson, the team’s captain, doesn’t like Ottawa’s long-term chances for survival, but that doesn’t mean they won’t live to fight at least one more day.

“If you ask anyone and they looked at our series, I don’t think there’s too many people who would have pick us right now. That’s what I meant,” Alfredsson said by way of explaining his post-Game 4 quote that the Sens probably wouldn’t win the series. “We have an opportunity and we’re still in the playoffs. We have always responded when we were up against the wall and I expect us to do the same thing [in Game 5] and give ourselves a chance to win a game and come back [to Ottawa for Game 6].”

GAME 4: Muir’s take | Recap | Boxscore | Highlights | Complete postseason schedule

Whether they come into the contest as never-say-die warriors, or with the easy calm of a team that has nothing to lose, the Senators still face long odds of extending the series against a Pittsburgh squad that proved it could keep its foot on the gas in Wednesday’s 7-3 thumping.

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Senators goalie Craig Anderson finally cracked against the Penguins in Game 4. (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Ottawa Senators finally proved they knew how to take a lead. They just didn’t know how to hold the lead.

That might sound like an old Seinfeld bit, but no one in Ottawa was laughing.

After Milan Michalek and Kyle Turris staked the Sens to a 2-1 edge during an entertaining first period, the Pittsburgh Penguins roared back with six unanswered goals on the way to a 7-3 win and commanding 3-1 series lead.

Here are some observations from the pivotal Game 4:

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The Penguins hope Jussi Jokinen juices a power play that may have cost them Game 3. (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Neither the Pittsburgh Penguins nor the Ottawa Senators were happy with the sputtering offenses that produced just one goal apiece in regulation in Game 3. So it’s no surprise that both Dan Bylsma and Paul MacLean are looking to add a little more punch to their rosters for tonight’s crucial Game 4 at Scotiabank Place.

In for Pittsburgh is Jussi Jokinen. For Ottawa, it’s Mark Stone.

Jokinen will see his first action in the series after sitting out the first three games, likely replacing Tanner Glass. He could skate on the fourth line tonight, with spot duty elsewhere to help out on face-offs, and should see time on Pittsburgh’s second power play unit. Don’t be surprised if he makes a big impact.

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Colin Greening scored the winning goal in double overtime for the Senators (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Ottawa Senators have it all wrong.

They call themselves “The Pesky Sens,” swiping a catchphrase from the Dallas Stars and using it as a hashtag on Twitter. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so misleading.

The Senators aren’t pesky. They’re resolute, resilient. They proved it again tonight, just when everyone was ready to write them off, piecing together their biggest win of the postseason by beating Pittsburgh 2-1 in double overtime in Game 3 to cut the Pens’ series lead to 2-1.

We’ve all made that mistake before. This is the same team that seemed destined for the draft lottery after losing Jason Spezza, then Craig Anderson, then Erik Karlsson in rapid succession. But the Senators proved everyone wrong, not just earning a playoff berth, but knocking off the second-seed Montreal Canadiens with ease.

So maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised to see them send what looked like a sure loss into overtime with a shorthanded beauty in the final minute off the stick of captain Daniel Alfredsson.

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Sidney Crosby scored a hat trick in 21 minutes against the Sens on Friday night. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Ottawa Senators couldn’t beat the Pittsburgh Penguins even when they managed to keep Sidney Crosby off the score sheet in Game 1. So you can imagine how well things went when Sid went off for a hat trick in Game 2.

Crosby’s three-goal game, his first in more than two years, paced Pitsburgh to a 4-3 win over the Senators Friday night. The Pens now own a 2-0 lead with the series heading back to Ottawa for Game 3 on Sunday.

This was the Kid at his best. Crosby’s first goal came on a quick burst up the wall that left Erik Karlsson in his tracks before he wristed one by Craig Anderson just 3:16 in. His second came on a vicious snapper that beat a baffled Anderson to the short side 13 minutes later. He completed the trick 1:15 into the second, timing his release to take advantage of a moving screen out front before blasting one over the keeper’s shoulder from the top of the circle.

That was it for Anderson, who was pulled for the first time this season. And really, that was it for the Senators as well. Sure, some sloppy play from goaltender Tomas Vokoun kept them in the game, but Crosby’s star turn was too much for Ottawa to overcome.

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If you really think about it, there is only one sure thing in this year’s NHL awards field. (Minas Panagiotakis/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Think about the levers that Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates had to pull to convince struggling superstar Alex Ovechkin to play the game his way, or how Mike Babcock guided the Detroit Red Wings into the post-Nick Lidstrom era with a rookie-laden lineup. That is a pair of remarkable coaching efforts right there, yet neither was good enough to make the cut for the Jack Adams Award, which is given to the coach who has contributed most to his team’s success. That tells you all you need to know about the quality of this year’s field.

The NHL announced this morning that Bruce Boudreau of the Anaheim Ducks, Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators, and Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks are the finalists for the Adams, as selected by the members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. It’s pretty easy to craft an argument in support of any one of them.

MORE NOMINEES: Hart | Norris | Vezina | Calder | Lindsay | Masterton | Selke | Byng

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Pittsburgh’s Pascal Dupuis took over the postseason goals lead with a shorthanded tally against Ottawa. (Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

The Penguins scored in every possible way on Tuesday night, showing once again their offensive depth and flexibility as they handed the Ottawa Senators a 4-1 loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Pittsburgh’s special teams shined, contributing two power play goals and a shorty, but despite the big win, the game was a perfect display of the Penguins’ strengths and weaknesses. This team has, without question, the conference’s best lineup from top to … well, not quite bottom.

After starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s meltdown in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Islanders, Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma turned to backup Tomas Vokoun, a 36-year-old veteran who hadn’t played a postseason game since 2007. Vokoun went on to seal the series with two wins and Bylsma stuck with him for the opener of Round 2. Though he made 35 saves in a solid effort, Vokoun did not erase the sinking feeling that if the Penguins are to lift the Stanley Cup in June, it will be despite their goaltending and not because of it.

Other thoughts from Game 1:

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Goalie Craig Anderson can extend the series by getting inside the heads of the Penguins’ top scorers. (Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Snapshot

On paper, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be coming into their second-round series against the Ottawa Senators as heavy favorites. The Pens swept the teams’ three regular-season meetings on the way to the Eastern Conference crown and feature a star-studded lineup that was deepened by GM Ray Shero at the deadline. But Pittsburgh struggled to get past the gritty New York Islanders in the first round, victimized by lapses in discipline, lack of focus and sketchy goaltending. Was that the product of playing against an inferior opponent, or evidence that this is a team ripe for an upset? The Senators, meanwhile, arrive on a high after throttling the second-seeded Canadiens in five games. Netminder Craig Anderson gives Ottawa a chance to win every night, and the special teams are feeling the flow. And while no one other than Sens owner Eugene Melnyk will admit it, there might just be a little residual bad blood in the wake of the Erik Karlsson-Matt Cooke incident earlier this season. This sets up as a nasty, fast-paced series.

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