Best of Five: Sens Are More Than Ready
With home ice advantage now in the hands of the underdog Senators, Troy Geary breaks down the first two games, while documenting the off-ice adversity that has prepared the team to defy in-ice expectations.
The Eastern Conference Final was expected to be a low scoring battle.
The first two games between the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins have fulfilled those expectation completely. Critics who expected the Penguins to sweep the Senators were proven starkly wrong in the first game. No matter the winner of this series, they will have sweated for it, as both of the first two games were decided by one goal.
Game One was a tightly contested matchup, as the Senators 1–3–1 formation suffocated the neutral zone. It worked to perfection, as the Penguins best players were nowhere to be found throughout the game.
The game would require overtime, which is no surprise for Senators fans. With a 5–1 OT record to this point in the playoffs, it was almost a matter of who, not if.
Bobby Ryan, who played his best game in an Ottawa Senators uniform, would be the hero. Ryan blew past a flat-footed Olli Maatta to get a clear breakaway. Ryan brought the puck to the backhand and roofed it past Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Senators a 2–1 win and a 1–0 lead in the series.
Game Two was another low scoring affair. As expected, the Penguins made strong adjustments, tightening up defensively.. After having almost 35 shots in Fleury in Game One, the managed only 23 shots in Game Two. At one point, the Senators went nearly a period without a shot on goal, including the first ten minutes of the third frame.
Phil Kessel was a non-factor for the first five periods of the series. His frustration was evident. He was seen arguing with an assistant coaches and teammates throughout the game. No one was arguing, however, when picked up his own rebound off a blocked shot and went high glove side on Anderson to break his three game pointless streak. The Penguins would shut it down the rest of the way, winning Game Two 1–0 and tying the series at 1–1.
The series shifts to Canadian Tire Centre for Game Three and Four. Ottawa will face a difficult task of trying to defeat a team that has beaten them in three consecutive playoff series. However, fighting through adversity is nothing new to this Senators team.
There have been many points throughout the years where cancer has touched the franchise. These struggles have become rallying points that ignited the fan base, and in every season the team made to the Eastern Conference Finals.
In 2003, the team rallied behind then assistant coach Roger Neilson including a final speech to the team. The speech took place when the team was down 3–2 to the New Jersey Devils in their first Eastern Conference Final appearance. (The clip begins at 5:40 and is told by then team president Roy Mlakar). The Senators would fall in Game Seven to the Devils, but the motivating impact of playing for Neilson was instrumental in the Senators success up to that point.
In 2007, a 3-year old Ottawa boy named Elgin Fraser lost his battle with cancer two days after watching the Senators advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. He became a late rallying point, and who could forget his famous picture with fan favourite Mike Fisher.
In November 2014 former coach and general manager Bryan Murray was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. After retiring as GM in April 2016, he remains with the organization as the teams senior hockey advisor. This season, Murray was Ottawa’s first ever Ring of Honour inductee before a January 24th game against the Washington Capitals.
Bobby Ryan felt the pain of losing his mother to cancer during the 2016 off-season. He wrote an in-depth article for The Player’s Tribune about his loss. It inspired Ryan to pen his latest piece about his season and the Senators current playoff run entitled “Why Not Us?”
Nicholle Anderson’s battle has been well publicized throughout the 2016–17 season. With permission of the team, Craig Anderson took nearly two months off to be with his wife. She’s been blogging about her experiences, and she’s been well enough to attend some games during the playoffs. Everyone at TheOcho.ca wishes her the best in her ongoing battle to be rid of the disease.
The character of this Senators team is among the best the organization has seen over the franchise’s 25 years. The moniker of “Pesky Sens” is a thing of the past. This team has matured through the peaks and valleys of the past several years, and it shows on the ice. They play with a “never say die” attitude that never gives up on a game until the final second has ticked away, combined with an unbreakable defensive structure that keeps every game within reach. It’s the perfect combination to defy all the odds. So my question to Sens Army is this:
Why the not Senators? Why not now?
Troy Geary is a hockey writer for theocho.ca. Look forward to regular contributions from Troy on all things Senators and NHL.
