Rough start to Round 2

Ottawa and Edmonton weren't playing their game. Now the two remaining Canadian teams trail 1-0 in their series.

The initial Ottawa-Buffalo matchup was a high-flying scoring affair with 3 goals in the last 1:38 of regulation and a winner 18 seconds into overtime. But a high-flying game is a drawback to the way the Senators play.

Though Edmonton beat Detroit, they had moments in that series similar to Game 1 against San Jose. The Oilers had 7 shots in the last 40 minutes of hockey; that will not work well in the playoffs.

Monday will be crucial for both teams. Ottawa tries to gain some advantage while Edmonton only needs one in San Jose.

Unfortunately for those in the States, the CBC feed appears to be gone. The OLN crew is rather bland, and are too busy rallying around whichever U.S. team is on the ice. I know I show a bias on this issue, but the CBC gives more props to U.S.-based teams than OLN gives to Canadian teams. Then again, OLN showed very few Canadian teams in its regular-season coverage.

And on top of that, OLN won't even carry Ottawa for games 2 and 3. I realize some of the scheduling issues are the fault of Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, but people shouldn't have to travel to bars to see conference semi-final action -- there is no excuse for that at all. Only two games in the conference semis aren't on U.S. TV, and both involve Ottawa. If two U.S. teams were involved, OLN would find a way to show the games.

In Canada, Ottawa (Buffalo) and Edmonton (San Jose) air on CBC. TSN has the other two series. With cable, you never have to leave home. In the U.S., you got to find a bar that can pull down a CBC feed. At least, you don't have to buy an American beer. Good luck!