Maybe the Ottawa Senators should stop believing their own press.
Not all that long ago, there were actually whispers, and not all of them coming out of Bytown, that the Senators might flirt with the benchmark for fewest losses in a season, set by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens with eight.
Although arguably the most talented squad in the league, the Senators would be wise to worry about the 2007 Canadiens, not the version that tore through the league three decades ago.
Last night's loss at the hands of the Predators — in which they tied the game in the final minute only to watch Nashville pot the winner with just 23 ticks left on the clock — was the fifth setback in a row and sixth in their past seven games.
Thanks to their little dunk in the NHL toilet, the Senators lead the Canadiens by just five points in the Northeast Division.
Looks like the annual playoff choke is coming a few months early in Ottawa.
Now, not even I, with my cynical charm, can be too hard on the Sens in light of their appearance — albeit a losing one — in last year's Stanley Cup final.
But if there is a more underachieving team in hockey, I'll be damned if I can think of it.
If the Stanley Cup were awarded each pre-season, there would be no sense playing the games. Unfortunately, the Cup is handed out in June and there has yet to be a parade in Ottawa.
As talented as they may be, the Senators may want to lose that swagger.
They haven't won anything to justify it.
If their own situation weren't so sobering, the Senators would probably be chuckling at the train wreck their hated rivals are trying to clear up down in Toronto.
Fact is, they're too busy trying to stay on the track themselves.