FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-The 2016/2017 Ottawa Senators are headed to the playoffs. I’ll say that again in case you missed it- THE 2016/2017 OTTAWA SENATORS ARE HEADED TO THE PLAYOFFS! And they earned it too. Their late season stumble made it a whole lot closer than it should have been but this team deserves to be where they are right now. Guy Boucher and the rest of the Coaching staff have done a tremendous job transforming the culture around the group and you could see it take hold as early as October. This team had an identity. And as the season rolled along, and adversity struck again and again, it became obvious it was more than just an identity. There’s a soul to this team. Watching the reaction on the bench at the end of regulation, you could see just how bad this team wanted this playoff spot.
-Getting the single point was obviously huge but thanks to the shootout win, the Senators now suddenly find themselves in the driver’s seat in the race for home ice advantage in the first round. A win in either of their weekend games would get it done. The Bruins look like the most likely first round opponent right now but we won’t know for sure until sometime on Saturday at the earliest. The Leafs and Capitals are still a possibility too. If it does end up being the Bruins, the Senators have to go in feeling pretty good about that match-up. They’ve owned the Bruins the last little while, including a 4-0-0 record on the year including three wins in the last month. It’s clear the Bruins do not like playing the Senators.
-They weathered an early storm but this was a damn good performance by the Senators considering they were without Erik Karlsson. After giving up 15 shots in the first period and looking a little disorganized in their own end of the rink, they locked it down over the final forty minutes, giving up just ten shots in the second and third period. Dion Phaneuf, Ben Harpur, Freddy Claesson, Chris Wideman, Cody Ceci and Mark Borowiecki really stepped up on the blueline and Alex Burrows found a way to beat Tuukka Rask in what turned out to be a playoff-clinching goal. Just a real solid team effort, top to bottom.
-And now, it’s time to load up the bandwagon. Seriously, if you’re thinking about buying playoff tickets for the first round, do it as soon as possible. Tickets go on sale to the general public tomorrow morning but there are pre-sales today for season ticket holders and I think, Sens Insider members. Either way, get your tickets now. In the event that it does end up being the Leafs, this is our chance to get a jump and buy up those tickets before they have the chance. And if it’s the Bruins, their fans travel pretty well too and they’ve been known to invade the CTC in the regular season. Either way, buy tickets as soon as possible. I know, I know- the arena is far away, Phoenix isn’t working, the RedBlacks start soon, the Blue Jays might make the playoffs in six months, you really like your couch and your cigarettes…I KNOW. BUT IT”S PLAYOFFS! Buy some damn tickets.
-As the clock struck zero at the end of regulation last night, I couldn’t help but think of all the doubters. The media and so-called experts, the fans of other teams…heck even a portion of our own fan base. All those people who were so damn sure this team would miss the playoffs. And not just before the season started either. When they started to stumble down the stretch, all those same naysayers came out of the woodwork again. Predictably, those skeptics will try to move the goal posts this morning and now start claiming this team is sure to face an early exit. Maybe. But a thing to remember about the people saying that- they’ve been very, very wrong about this team before.
-Bonus Thought- If you’re not already following Callum Fraser on Twitter, get on it. During this year’s playoffs, he’ll be releasing a series of videos inspired by the Hockey Night in Canada montages that have always been one of the best parts about this time of year. He released his first video after last night’s game and it’s incredible. It’s a perfect recap of what has been a remarkable season to this point. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have this video on repeat until the playoffs start next week.
Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
Boxscore
Advanced Stats
Standings
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