Thus endeth the reign

Sean Burke started. Not much changed in front of the net though... Or in the net, as the Senators again proved they had the machismo, the swagger and the downright hunger that the Lightning have lacked for a majority of the 2005-06 campaign.

There was a plethora of points to talk about... But honestly, there's nothing left to talk about. The 2003-04 Stanley Cup Champions have been bounced from Cup contention. It's no surprise to the Lightning faithful, nor were the comments from John Grahame or John Tortorella surprising in the latter days.

It's another disappointing end to this disappointing season (the regular season's ending was terrible as well).

Congratulations to the Ottawa Senators, Chris at Hockey Country and the fans. Martin Havlat has got to be the leading Conn Smythe candidate at current. I also greatly admire Wade Redden for his play through such a trying time. Hopefully, he'll be able to pay ample tribute to his mother while playing for (or raising) Lord Stanley's Cup.

3-2 -- the Ottawa Senators advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. A foresee a very bitter ordeal with Les Habitants in the next round. We'll know soon enough.

As for me? Well, I gotta take a few days off from Boltsmag... Probably less if there is player movement right out of the gate here in Tampa (the hot stove is my favorite time of year). After the 2004 campaign, the lockout and this season -- I'm beat. Of course, the sports world waits for no one so I'm not likely to keep my vow very long.