You're probably already well aware that a Canadian team hasn't hoisted the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadians won it during the 1992-93 season. That drought is now guaranteed to continue for at least one more year.
After the Vancouver Canucks were eliminated from the postseason earlier in the week, the Ottawa Senators were Canada's final hope for the season. They too had their Stanley Cup run come to a close on Thursday night, losing Game 7 to the Rangers by a 2-1 margin.
It certainly wasn't for a lack of effort (or skill) as the Senators were all over New York, not only on Thursday but over the first six games as well. In the end Henrik Lundqvist was just a bit better than Craig Anderson, and the Rangers are moving on while the Senators are not. It was still a big step forward for an Ottawa team that was considered before the season to be one of the worst in the NHL. They not only exceeded expectations by making the playoffs, but they also gave the No. 1 seed in the conference everything it could handle.
And with that, the second round of the NHL playoffs is now set. We already knew what the Western Conference was going to look like, and we now know that the Eastern Conference is a get-together of old Patrick Division rivals.
The Rangers will move on to face the Washington Capitals, while the New Jersey Devils will take on the Philadelphia Flyers. Go ahead and pick a favorite out of that group. It still looks to be pretty wide open.
The rest of the best for Thursday night...
Rookie? Adam Henrique didn't play like a rookie on Thursday night.
Not only did he score a pair of goals for the Devils, including the game-winning goal in double overtime, he also finished the game as a plus-two, recorded three shots on goal, played over 20 minutes, and drew a pair of penalties on rushes through the Florida defense. Not hard to see why he's a finalist for the Calder Trophy. 
The Senators were unable to get the game-tying goal in the final minutes on Thursday night, but this shot from Milan Michalek was perhaps their best scoring chance of the night.
Unfortunately for them, Henrik Lundqvist was on top of his game and made one of his biggest saves of the postseason.
Shortly after the Senators were eliminated, the Los Angeles Kings, the most entertaining official Twitter account in the league, sent out this Tweet in an effort to get some more fans on the bandwagon.
Hey sad NHL fan, did your team get bounced from the playoffs? Looking for a new crew to cheer on? Try the @lakings today!
— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 27, 2012
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