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It wasn't a pretty victory.

They couldn't manage a powerplay goal. Dany Heatley still hasn't scored. And Jason Spezza played one of his worst games in recent memory, including a turnover that directly led to a Montreal short-handed goal.

But the end result is all that matters. A shootout victory will suit Ottawa just fine as they got out of their three game losing streak against a competent Montreal squad, playing in their home opener. It wasn't a fast paced full-throttle match up like the Calgary game, but Ottawa did dictate the play for the majority of the game and got some "lunchpail" goals from Denis Hamel and Chris Kelly that reflected the work ethic the Senators need to pick up wins.

The selections for the shootout were indeed interesting as Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza would normally get the call. But Murray, perhaps on a hunch or perhaps not wanting to put too much additional pressure on the Pizza line then they already have, went with the 2nd/3rd line players in Vermette, McAmmond and Fisher. He looked like a genius, as Fisher and Vermette scored to end Montreal's rally.

More important to me personally, is that I won four individual bets on tonight's game. Every bandwagon Sens fan is eager to profit from their losses, but for me there was just no way the losing could continue with the roster they have and the overall improved play since that 6-0 spanking by the Leafs. So, the victory has given me:

- One "tallboy" bottle of beer
- One bag of fresh-baked cookies from Cafe Deluxe (to be shared with my work lunchmates)
- One Subway chicken salad

And $5.00 cash money.

Ray Emery was solid in net, but I imagine Gerber will likely get the call Thursday against the Avalanche. He's paid $3.7 million a year, so he'll get every opportunity to rebound.

Hopefully, this win will allow some Sens fans to relax a little. You think that the world was coming to an end the way a lot of people were talking. It's a long season...77 games left to play.

Other thoughts: Mats Sundin managed to get a hat-trick and beat the Flames 5-4 in overtime and in the process get 500 career goals. I don't want to take anything away from his accomplishment, but the Leafs are getting extremely lucky blowing leads and managing to sneak away with one or two points. On the other hand, Sundin is racking up the scoring for my pools and I certainly can't complain about that.