As Eugene Melnyk so eloquently stated before his team had one of the worst months in the history of the franchise, “it doesn’t get any better than this.”
That’s how Sens fans felt after what was truly a memorable weekend of hockey in the Nation’s Capital.
Despite the best efforts of the Owner, this was a celebration of the game, of the City of Ottawa and of this passionate fan base. From the impromptu mid-day skate on Parliament Hill, to the Alumni Game 25 years in the making and then finally, to a glorious win over the Montreal Canadiens on the frozen pond at TD Place.
This was a weekend Sens fans won’t soon forget.
In a season where almost nothing has gone right for this team, it was two days of magic that served as a great distraction from everything else going on around this hockey club.
And as we shake off what’s left of the NHL100 Classic hangover, some news and notes on the week ahead.
-Perhaps lost in the hype over the event itself was the fact that the Ottawa Senators played a damn good game on Saturday night. There second such game in a row, in fact. If you’re looking for signs that this team may still have a pulse, the games against New York and Montreal were a great start. What is most encouraging about those two wins is the fact that some of their best players- guys like Erik Karlsson, Craig Anderson and Bobby Ryan- are the ones leading the way.
-Speaking of Erik Karlsson, it certainly was nice to see him having a little bit of fun out there on Saturday night. In fact, I can’t ever recall seeing Karlsson like that. Between his injury and the contract distraction, this has been a less than ideal start to the season for the Captain. But you could tell that on Saturday, he was going to put all those distractions out of his mind and just soak in the experience. Sort of get the feeling that this weekend might be a bit of a turning point for Karlsson.
-Full credit to Gary Bettman for stepping in on Saturday and putting out the fire that Eugene Melnyk started the night before. You could tell that the Commissioner was frustrated with the childish behaviour of the Senators Owner as he gave Eugene a little bit of a wake-up call on how the whole relocation process works in the National Hockey League. Oh to be a fly on the wall for that next conversation between Gary and Eugene.
-While the weekend festivities served as a bit of a distraction and the last two wins help, the Senators still find themselves at the centre of the rumour mill as the league’s Holiday Freeze, set for December 19th, quickly approaches. Mike Hoffman, Cody Ceci, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Derick Brassard have all been getting some attention from around the league but at this point, it seems like Pierre Dorion might wait it out a little bit.
-No time for the Senators to rest this week as they are right back at it against the Minnesota Wild tomorrow on home ice. And after that, they are back on the road for a pre-Christmas trip to Florida where they’ll take on the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night and the Florida Panthers on Saturday. The Senators are back on the ice for practice at 10:30 AM this morning before making their annual visit to CHEO later this afternoon.
