In which I finally stop crying.

SENATORS 4 at THRASHERS 5

I watched most of this game through TVU and I honestly am beyond the point of anger and exasperation. I am beyond throwing things at the screen or screaming someone's name in agony. I have reached the point where I see the utter absurdity that is this team; hallelujah, girls and boys, I have exhausted my entire regular season emotional reserve.

And this was the game that did it. It started out relatively benign -- someone on HFboards pointed this out, actually, and it's an apt description: this game was the history of the Ottawa Senators in 60 minutes.

In the first period, they play well, great, building up an optimistic lead. This has been our regular season. In the second period, they are clawed, forced to fight, and don't come out looking too great but somehow barely hang on. This has been the first round of the playoffs. In the third period, we witness a meltdown of either

a) the entire team or b) goaltending,

which is rather spectacular and amazing in and of itself to observe. The magnitude and magnificance of the ways in which this team can fail is utterly captivating; I would make the case that the Senators are the most interesting team to watch night and night out in the NHL right now. We've failed by complete meltdown, surrendering a 3-0 lead; we've failed by blow-out; we've failed by overtime goals; we've failed by special teams. Really, no lead is safe when we play and you always know that we'll find a way to come crumbling down in a spectacular fashion, much like how an elephant trips and stumbles on a tack or Jenga blocks ....

The kicker, the most unique thing about this team, is that in our last two losses, we've actually chased out the opposition's goaltender and proceeded to get shut-out by their replacement and actually LOSE. This isn't even divine punishment anymore, it's just absurdity. It's absurdity in the most existentialist way I've experienced: there is no meaning in any of this.

Really, watch the Ottawa Senators. It's your lesson in the possible ways of losing.

Cross-posted at Hockey Will Tear Us Apart.