Senators playing with poise

Ottawa needed overtime to grab a 1-0 series lead over New Jersey.
OTTAWA (AP) -- The Ottawa Senators are putting six straight years of playoff disappointment behind them.
Playing with poise and composure, the Senators have a 1-0 edge on the playoff-savvy New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference finals, which resume in Ottawa on Tuesday night.
"I think we are playing with confidence, and that's probably the difference from the past two years," Senators goalie Patrick Lalime said on Sunday. "We believe we can do it, and we're just having fun out there."
Fun and playoffs didn't always go hand in hand when it came to the Senators, whose previous six postseason appearances ended with four first-round and two second-round exits.
And that includes last year when Ottawa squandered a 3-2 second-round series lead -- and 2-0 lead in Game 6 -- against Toronto.
All that's changed for a team that led the NHL in points this season, and reached the third round for the first time in its 11-year history. The Senators made it this far by beating the New York Islanders in five games and Philadelphia in six.
Bankruptcy
More impressive is that these Senators are succeeding despite uncertainty at the ownership level, which led to the team filing for bankruptcy in January.
It wasn't until last week that the franchise's future in Ottawa became more secure when the Ontario Supreme Court approved the team's sale to Toronto billionaire Eugene Melnyk.
"We had a great regular season where we had to deal with a lot of adversity," forward Todd White said, "and we've been able to be very resilient and mentally tough."
Now it's the Devils turn to show what they've got in making their third Eastern Conference finals appearance in four years.
All that experience didn't count for much in Game 1, when New Jersey appeared to be a step behind the Senators.
Shaun Van Allen's game-winner came on a two-on-one rush. And the Senators had several opportunities to blow things open if not for Martin Brodeur's stellar 27-save effort.
Relax, said Devils coach Pat Burns, who's team trails a series for the first time this postseason.