OTTAWA — These Ottawa Senators were not a team of destiny.
They were something much, much greater than that.
There was nothing mystical or magical behind an improbable run that captured imaginations in the nation’s capital. No, this was simply about sacrifice and togetherness and belief — qualities they should be commended for despite a six-game loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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“I’m extremely proud of this group,” Senators coach Dave Cameron said after Sunday’s 2-0 heartbreaker. “You look at not just the results, but you look at the commitment and you look at the blocked shots and you look at the compete level and you look at the professionalism, you look at how they handled the day-to-day stuff. …
“I think when we get over the (disappointment) and look back we’ll feel pretty good about what we accomplished here.”
Teams that go out in the first round almost never feel this way. What it means is that you battled through six gruelling months just to qualify for the playoffs and lasted only two weeks (or less) once you got there.
But the 2014-15 Senators were something special. Something different.
Before them no one in NHL history had ever qualified for the playoffs after being 14 points out — in February, no less — and the fact they did it while using a third-string goaltender and with general manager Bryan Murray and assistant coach Mark Reeds both battling cancer is almost beyond words.
Real life collided with the joy of playing a sport for a living and yet this group found a way to persevere and thrive.
Had the bounces gone just a bit differently, they may have pulled off an upset of Montreal. The aggregate score was 12-12 in the series and Carey Price needed to heroically stop 43 shots to avoid a seventh game.
“They did a lot of special things to get into the post-season,” said Price. “They played a heck of a series. That was a good team over there.”
One of the best traits the Senators possessed was the ability to stay in the moment and not get overwhelmed by the enormity of the task before them. After going on a charge late in the regular season, they continued to battle the Canadiens even after falling behind 3-0 in the series.
However, when Game 6 arrived on Sunday, they showed some nerves.
The team looked off for most of the first period and fell behind 1-0 on a ridiculous display of hand-eye co-ordination by Brendan Gallagher. As Cameron put it: “(We were) just off a wee, wee bit. Some of that’s fatigue and some of that’s pressure too.”
Once they eased into the game, they took control of it. Price denied Kyle Turris on a 2-on-1 with his blocker –“nine out of 10 that goes in,” lamented Clarke MacArthur — and a quick whistle denied Jean-Gabriel Pageau a potential tying goal in the second period.
With time ticking down the Sens put together a chaotic charge, only to see Price make nine saves inside the final four minutes.
"I think it sums us up,” said Turris.” We were gonna fight until the end and we had two or three opportunities right in the blue paint right at the end there — like I said, we just couldn’t capitalize, just couldn’t catch a break."
When it was all said and done, the crowd lingered inside Canadian Tire Centre for the longest time. Nobody could believe it was actually over.
“Right now it’s very, very empty,” said captain Erik Karlsson. “We’ve been playing so hard for the past few months here that I don’t think we really expected it to end this fast.”
“It’s a tough day,” added forward Mark Stone. “This is the most fun I’ve had coming to the rink in my pro career and quite possibly in my whole hockey career. We’d come to the rink with smiles on our faces and just enjoyed seeing everybody.”
Only time will tell if they’re better for the experience.
It was largely young players that carried this team, but the NHL is as unpredictable as it’s ever been. There are no guarantees. If tough situations reveal character, we saw an awful lot of character from this group of players.
Counted out and overlooked before the midway point of the season, the Sens not only made the playoffs, but stretched a 110-point team with big aspirations to the limit.
“It was an odd year,” said MacArthur. “Going into December, there wasn’t a whole lot of energy and we didn’t know what we are as a team. To go to where we got to, I’m just proud of the whole organization.”
It was quite a ride. There should be some satisfaction mixed in with the sadness.