Every year Ottawa enters the playoffs as a contender yet every year they get knocked without even getting to the finals. No other team has fielded such a talented lineup year after year, yet somehow they are always eliminated. Their regular season dominance has placed them among the upper-echelon of teams yet the playoffs somehow drop them back to the pack. After their latest loss to the Buffalo Sabres, a talented and excellent skating team, the Senators clearly need to take a new approach to reaching the finals. Ottawa GM John Muckler redefined his team during the offseason and they look like they are in a solid position entering the season. Their offseason moves have increased their mobility on defense and solidified the goaltending for the foreseeable future. They also gave up their number 1 defenseman, the towering Zdeno Chara, as well as the extremely skilled Martin Havlat. Whether these moves were completely dictated by the salary cap or by Ottawa?s new direction is not completely clear. Ottawa definitely could not have afforded both Havlat?s $6 million a year and Chara?s $7.5 million annual salary and brought in a goalie. After the offseason, the Senators are still not in a position to win the coveted Stanley Cup. The keys to success for the Ottawa Senators will involve some subtle changes and a few larger ones, but if changes aren?t made, Ottawa fans won?t need to look forward to the prospect of a Stanley Cup parade in Canada?s Capital. Forwards: The Senators have a very talented group of forwards that features one of the top lines in the league. The Alfredsson-Spezza-Heatley line, which was brought back together after an excellent showing against the Buffalo Sabres when Spezza scored two goals after the line was reunited, features all the speed, skill and talent that any hockey fan could hope for. Unfortunately, this line is not the type of line that can grind and is successful in the playoffs. One of the players on this finesse line, Daniel Alfredsson, happens to be Ottawa?s captain. Alfie, as he is called in Ottawa, had a pitiful playoffs and for this reason, as well as the controversial reason of him not being Canadian, he is not a captain that can lead his team to the Stanley Cup. As good of a player as he is and despite his veteran presence, he has not been enough of a force in the playoffs to lead this team. When Alfie enters the playoffs he trusts his teammates less and tries to do everything himself. This selfishness is not a quality of a captain. Alfie also has the stain of Jason Pominville?s weak series ending goal on his sweater. Alfie did not have the basic defensive fundamentals to stop Jason Pominville, a player who barely made the Sabres roster. A forward should not be expected to know this generally, however Alfie was not caught out of position. Alfie spent the season playing the point on the powerplay, so this is not a foreign position to him. Alfie?s potential replacement as captain is the newly resigned Wade Redden. Despite being involved with the series-ending goal, Redden has played well in the playoffs and is a strong presence on Ottawa?s blue line. Redden is a premier defenseman, so he is a good enough player to be the captain. Redden is also a great leader. This move will relieve some of the pressure on Alfredsson and this would allow him to maintain his regular season play in the playoffs. The switching of captaincy occurred in the Dallas Stars dressing room and this has not posed a problem so far this season. Brenden Morrow replaced Mike Modano as captain and the Stars currently own a 2-0 record. Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley must work themselves into a system for scoring because Jason Spezza?s playmaking and Heatley?s shot are quite a combination, but will not work as well in the playoffs because the game locks down more. Spezza also must refrain from doing any blind passes in the playoffs because this is too dangerous a play and can cause many harmful turnovers. The first line must produce for Ottawa to be successful because the other three lines are not quite as strong offensively. Fisher has performed well so far and looked strong in the preseason and must keep it up as he centers Ottawa?s second unit. His wingers, Peter Schaefer and Antoine Vermette, must score on a consistent basis. If this does not happen, Vermette may have to be moved for a scoring threat to make Ottawa less of a one line team. Chris Neil and Dean McAmmond and Denis Hamel are quickly developing chemistry together and they will be a solid third line with their combination of scoring, speed and grit. This line should in a good position as long as they work hard and battle when playoff-time comes. The fourth line, consisting of Chris Kelly, Brian McGrattan and Patrick Eaves, will just need to remain defensively responsible and chip in with the occasional goal. Both Patrick Eaves and Russian rookie Alexei Kaigorodov are hoping to move up the depth chart in the near future. If Kaigorodov can adapt to the North-American game then the Senators scoring will spread and this may alleviate the need to bring in another forward. The key for the forwards is to play hard at playoff time and to come up with timely goals. Defense: The Senators seem to be in very good shape with their defense. They have six solid defensemen, headlined by should-be captain Wade Redden. Despite suffering injuries, Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing are both mobile and good offensive additions to the blue line. Anton Volchenkov needs to return to his big hitting style that he used to use often. Andrej Meszaros shocked everyone with his outstanding rookie season and the Senators need for him to build upon this or at least not fall victim to the sophomore curse. He will likely receive a lot of the minutes that Chara played last season. Chris Phillips will likely continue his steady play, however Ottawa will need him to step up his game in the playoffs as he has done in previous years. Christoph Schubert is also a very capable defensemen who is stuck in a deep Ottawa defense. He is able to play forward as well which makes him versatile and will ensure that there will be space for him on the roster. The defense just needs to play well as a unit and be a part of the offense for Ottawa to be in a position to win the Stanley Cup. Goaltending: Except for the Philadelphia series a few years ago, Ottawa has never really had outstanding goaltending in the playoffs. Goaltending, whether it be Ottawa?s or the other teams, has always stood in the way of Ottawa and post-season success. Curtis Joseph, Ryan Miller, Ed Belfour and Martin Brodeur are some of the goalies who beat out Ottawa in the playoffs. Ottawa has been plagued by poor and inconsistent goaltending from Patrick Lalime and, most recently, Ray Emery. Despite playing strong in part of the playoffs, Emery?s game 1 in the Buffalo series was quite poor and not something expected from a dependable playoff goalie. Ottawa has improved their goaltending situation for the regular season with Martin Gerber starting and Ray Emery backing him up and ready to start if he has to. Gerber has not had success in his one postseason he played in. Last year, his Carolina Hurricanes won the cup, however his weak play, which may have been a result of illness, resulted in him losing his job to rookie goalie Cam Ward. Gerber then left the team in free agency and came to Ottawa. Since he has arrived he has had one very good game, one very bad game (both against the arch-rival Toronto Maple Leafs) and another mediocre game. Ottawa needs Gerber to show consistency and an ability to play in the clutch or else a goaltending move may be necessary. The key to Ottawa?s success in the playoffs is strong goaltending and for the goalie to bail the players out if they are not playing well enough. The fact that three of the last five Conn Smythe trophy winners have been goalies show just how valuable this position is in the playoffs. If Gerber does not play well enough for Ottawa and Emery does not have a breakout season then a trade may be necessary. The most logical person to trade for is Martin Biron. Biron has played quite well and would be a starter on most teams in the league. His salary is also only $2.1 million a year, which Ottawa could definitely afford if they find a way to move Gerber?s contract. The Senators hope that Gerber plays well and everyone follows these keys to success and Ottawa will be drinking champagne out of the cup in June.