HOCKEY LAST NIGHT: LEAFS, SENS GET OFF THE SCHNEID

You're thinking about all the money you blew, aren't you? What was it, 50, 60 grand? Why don't you go back to the beginning and make a list of all the things you did wrong.

Leafs 5 Lightning 4: As so often happens with teams in prolonged losing streaks, it was a sudden deluge of goals that lifted the Leafs to a win, as they scored four straight late in the second and early in the third after Paul Maurice lit into everyone on the bench when Tampa Bay was ahead 3-1. Darcy Tucker got credit for putting the Leafs ahead for a good after a shot went in off his leg.

Gut feeling: It would have been more encouraging if they had won a tight-checking 2-1, 3-1 game to break the slide. Why? Well, the Leafs will need to play and win plenty of those to have any shot at the playoffs, thanks to their typically popgun attack. Oh, well. At least Maurice doesn't have to take an eight-game winless skid into his return to Carolina. You know how the hockey media in Raleigh, North Carolina can be merciless.

The Leafs (33 points) have 50 games left. Last season, the eighth-place team in the Eastern Conference, Tampa Bay had 92 points. If that's going the standard again, the Leafs would need 59 out of possible 100 remaining points to make the post-season. That just seems a little out of reach, especially when you consider that the Bruins, Capitals, Islanders and the Pittsburgh BlackBerries are all no longer the plugs they were last season.

With the East arguably having more parity than it did in '05-06, the bar might be a bit lower. Eighty-eight points seems like the magic number to make the playoffs.

Senators 3 Red Wings 2: Ottawa was desperate for a win, and this one turned out to be worth the $10.95 pay-per-view for Sens fans. Ray Emery fairly stood on his head to help Ottawa beat their old pal Dominik Hasek despite being outshot 45-22. Like the Leafs, the Sens weren't full value but they and their fans will certainly take it.

Sabres 3 Devils 2: Some columnist somewhere will write about Daniel Brière as a Hart Trophy candidate after the diminutive centre he set up all three Buffalo goals in a rare road win over the Devils.

Marian Hossa and Sidney Crosby, of course, are the league's best forwards right now. Along with being a solid all-around player, Brière's 10th overall in scoring despite having had only 12 of his 37 points on the power play. Only Vinny Lecavalier (26) and Martin St-Louis (29) have more even-strength/short-handed points.

Canadiens 4 Bruins 3: Between Phil Kessel's cancer surgery and the family tragedy Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey suffered with his daughter Laura missing, this game was kind of secondary, but it ended up being a pretty good one as Sergei Samsonov scored twice to lift the Habs past his former team.

NHL Scoreboard

Tonight's better games: Ducks vs. Thrashers, 7 p.m.; Flyers vs. Penguins, 7:30 p.m.

Oh, and lest we forget, Kingston Frontenacs vs. Belleville Bulls, 7:30 p.m., at the Yardmen Arena in Bellevegas. It's the front end of a big home-and-home,

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.