Since misery loves company, the Ottawa Senators must be delighted to know they have plenty of it.

If nothing else, that should make things easier heading into Game 2 for the Presidents' Trophy winners, who have been raked over the coals by their fans and media since being stunned in their playoff opener by the Islanders.

Maybe now the Senators can try convincing themselves they were actually ahead of the curve.

Patrick Lalime and the Senators are hoping to return to their regular-season form.(AP)

To an extent, they were. The Senators became the first upset victims in this year's playoffs, but it wasn't long before a trio of their other top-seeded colleagues suffered the same fate in Game 1s.

And except for Detroit, which had victory stolen away from them by Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Dallas and Colorado were as guilty as Ottawa was in terms of deciding their own destinies.

In the Stars' case, their loss to Edmonton was the result of a lethargic second period, which that allowed the Oilers to take the lead, and a few irrational moments late in the third, when two unnecessary penalties effectively negated Dallas' push to get the tying goal.

Colorado, meanwhile, was done in as much by its inability to kill second-period penalties, which led to three Minnesota goals in less than five minutes, as by rookie coach Tony Granato's failure to keep Peter Forsberg's line away from the Wild's top checking unit all night.

But those are things that can be remedied, much more easily one suspects, than the psychological damage to the Senators from their thoroughly disastrous performance in their series opener. Ottawa, after all, has demons to overcome, resulting from being a talented team that has never been able to translate its regular-season success into similar results during the playoffs.

This year is supposed to be different. Ottawa posted more victories than anyone else in the league, using a formula that blended speed, skill and an ability to control the flow of games. Its presumed Achilles' heel, a lack of toughness and grit, was addressed through a series of late-season personnel moves, and as a result, the Senators came into these playoffs determined to prove to everyone, including themselves, that they were finally capable of getting over the hump in the postseason.

Ottawa certainly seemed ready because they played at full throttle right down to the wire and drew the Islanders, a team that had essentially backed into the playoffs, as a first-round opponent. It was one of the reasons New York coach Peter Laviolette's attempt at psychological warfare earlier this week, a warning that high expectations can cause favorites to choke, was easy to laugh off.

Until the game began Wednesday. From the drop of the puck, Senators were outworked and outhustled by the underdogs from New York and seemed more intent on taking out years of frustration on former captain Alexei Yashin than on doing what was required to win.

Yashin took every hit, stick and punch the Senators threw at him, and got his revenge by leading the Islanders to a 3-0 victory with an impressive individual performance.

"We know we didn't play the kind of game we were supposed, but the only thing we can do is put it behind us," said Senators defenseman Wade Redden. "We have to get back to playing the way we did all season."

That might be easier said than done. Ottawa has been one of the NHL's top regular-season teams for the past six years but has managed only two first-round playoff victories during that span.

But now, with the first first-overall finish in franchise history, the Senators are feeling the pressure of much higher expectations than usual.

"We knew that, but we were too tight," said right winger Marian Hossa, who led Ottawa with 45 goals. "It seemed like everyone was trying to do too much."

And accomplishing too little. The aftermath of their loss to New York brought the expected amount of soul-searching from the Ottawa camp, much as it did from the other top-seeded teams that went down to unexpected defeat on their home ice.

The difference, however, is that Detroit, Dallas and Colorado have won three of the past four Stanley Cups, and are teams that know they not only can come back, they are supposed to.

It's a lesson the Senators haven't quite learned yet. And if they aren't able to figure it out by Saturday, it might be a long time before they do.