Happy to be Torched.
Quentin Young strays off the beaten path as he claims that Ottawa’s 7–0 loss to Pittsburgh might be a blessing in disguise.
If you haven’t heard, the Ottawa Senators lost 7–0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
My reaction was not like the others.
When someone told me (as if I didn’t already know) that they lost by 7, I said “good.”
Why? Simple. They’re underdogs.
They’re the Pesky Sens, and after making it this far nearly every fan can almost taste the Stanley Cup.
Ottawa plays some of their best hockey against the top teams in the league. They went 4–3–0 against the Penguins during the season (best of 7 anyone?), a stellar 6–3–0 facing the New York Rangers, went 2–1–0 on Columbus, and won both games against Edmonton.
The flip side? Ottawa dropped four of five games (1–4–0) against the lowly Buffalo Sabres and went 1–3–0 record against Detroit.
To figure out why the Senators are like this, you can look back no farther than last summer. Freshly-minted General Manager Pierre Dorion hired Guy Boucher and Marc Crawford as his coaches. Since then, we’ve seen defence that grinds opposing offences to a hault, a distinct lack of scoring, and more than our fair share of nerve wracking one-goal games.
Surprise! That’s the answer.
Ottawa’s winning formula all season long has been pretty similar. Give up a goal in the first period, usually with the goaltender at fault. After that, they shut it down until intermission and get the forwards prepped.
Guy Boucher has to be the greatest loser to ever win. In that locker room, nearly every first intermission, that man has to go in and say “hey lads, we’re down.” That part probably sucks. I can’t begin to imagine what comes next, though. The way he turns first period deficits into third period comebacks night in and night out still astounds me.
Overtime is a walk in the park for Ottawa most nights if their 6–1 OT record is anything to go by. This isn’t comforting going into next season, but for now it’s working beautifully.
The playoffs have followed this pattern some nights, or they reverse it, but either way, it’s Ottawa hockey.
Round One
Game 1: Ottawa scores first in the second, Boston wins with a pair in the third.
Game 2: Bruins pour on in the 2nd with 3, Ottawa musters 1, then 2 in the third, wins in OT.
Game 3: Sens score 2 in the first, 2nd period is repeat of Game 2, Ottawa wins OT.
Game 4: Ottawa scores one in the third, shuts out Boston.
Game 5: Ottawa scores in the 1st and 2nd, Boston manages two in the middle frame, wins OT.
Game 6: Ottawa gives up one each in the 1st and 3rd, but go for 2 in the 2nd, and win in OT.
Round Two
Game 1: Both Sens and Rangers score in the second, Sens finish in the third.
Game 2: Rangers are 1–3–1, Ottawa 1–1–3, Ottawa finishes in OT.
Game 3: Rangers have two per period through first 40, Ottawa adds one in the second, loses.
Game 4: Rangers 1–2–1, Sens score in the third to lose.
Game 5: Rangers two in 1st, Ottawa 1. Flip it for Per. 2, add one each for the 3rd, OTT wins in OT.
Game 6: Ottawa scores two in the first, each team scores one more each period, Sens win.
Conference Finals:
Game 1: Sens score in the first, give one up in the third, win in OT
Game 2: Pittsburgh scores in the third, shuts out Sens
Game 3: Ottawa scores 4 in the first, one in the second and gives up a goal in the third
Game 4: Penguins score in the first, add 2 in the second, Ottawa scores then as well
Game 5: Pens go 4–1–2 for a total of 7 goals and the shutout
Getting beat 7–0 is the second-best result for Canada’s last remaining team. They’re fending off elimination, and when they’re against the odds, they come out to play.
An embarrassment? For sure. A sign of things to come? Not even a little bit.
I hope Mike Condon takes over the net and that captain Erik Karlsson isn’t hurt too bad, but Boucher’s boys will come out swinging in Game Six.
Quentin Young is a hockey writer for theocho.ca. He gets mad when his articles underperform, so please share this piece. Follow Quentin on Twitter at @young_quentin.
