Two weeks ago, Ottawa Life profiled the greatest players in the history of the Ottawa Senators, starting with numbers 20 through 11 and moving on to the top 10. With the franchise’s 20th season set to begin on October 7th against the Detroit Red Wings, here are our choices for the top 20 Ottawa Senators moments, from the first game in team history, through the club’s string of 11 consecutive playoff appearances and all the way to the present day.
Thanks again to YouTube for being an invaluable source of video links; simply click on the bolded part in each moment to be directed to the YouTube clip.
20. A collection of Ottawa’s best fights: Zdeno Chara rag-dolling Bryan McCabe in 2004; the brawl in Philadelphia later that year; Brian McGrattan’s beat-down of Tie Domi in 2005; the brawl in Buffalo in 2007.
19. The Senators’ 10-4 win over Buffalo in the 11th game of the 2005-06 season. Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley combine for 13 points while Martin Havlat scores four goals in the highest-scoring game of the Pizza Line era.
18. Jason Spezza’s overtime winner against Sheldon Souray and the Montreal Canadiens early in his career; the nicest individual goal in Senators history.
17. The first shootout in NHL history, as Ottawa opened the 2005-06 season by topping the Maple Leafs with historic goals from Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley.
16. Ottawa’s 11-game winning streak in January 2010, highlighted by Mike Fisher’s overtime winner against Montreal on Hockey Day in Canada.
15. Matt Carkner’s Game 5 triple-overtime goal against Pittsburgh in 2010, allowing the Sens to stave off elimination for one more game.
14. Mike Fisher’s Game 6 double-overtime goal against Toronto in 2004, allowing the Sens to stave off elimination for one more game.
13. Daniel Alfredsson’s Game 5 third-period goal against Toronto in 2002, leaving Darcy Tucker flat on the ice and giving Ottawa a 3-2 series lead.
12. Patrick Lalime’s heroic performance against Philadelphia in Round 1 of the 2002 playoffs; he allowed just two goals in five games and shut out the Flyers for 184 straight minutes.
11. Daniel Alfredsson’s 1000th career point, an empty-net goal against Buffalo in October 2010 to cap off a hat trick and a 4-2 win.
10. Neil Brady scores the first goal in franchise history on October 8th, 1992, setting the tone for a 5-3 victory (also a first for the modern Senators).
9. After Jacques Martin stepped aside for the final two games of the 2001-02 season, Roger Neilson coached his 999th and 1000th career NHL games, the final one at home against Toronto.
8. Shaun Van Allen’s Game 1 overtime goal against New Jersey in 2003, handing the Senators a 1-0 series lead in their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
7. Jason Spezza’s Game 5 performance against New Jersey in 2003; in his first career playoff game, the 19-year old scores a goal and an assist to rescue the Senators from the brink of elimination.
6. Chris Phillips’ Game 6 overtime goal against New Jersey in 2003, knotting the series at three games apiece and sending the teams back to Ottawa for one final match-up.
5. Joe Corvo’s Game 2 double-overtime goal against Buffalo in 2007; the floating shot from the point beat Ryan Miller, allowing the Sens to escape with the franchise’s first ever 2-0 series lead.
4. Igor Kravchuk’s Game 6 empty-net goal against New Jersey in 1998; after Janne Laukkanen scored the winner midway through the second period, Kravchuk capped off the shocking upset of the heavily favoured Devils, Ottawa’s first-ever series victory.
3. Ottawa’s Game 3 victory over Anaheim in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals; the Sens rebounded from three straight one-goal deficits to win the first-ever Cup Finals game at Scotiabank Place by a score of 5-3.
2, Steve Duchesne’s third-period goal against Buffalo on April 12th, 1997, breaking a scoreless tie and clinching the first playoff berth in franchise history.
1. Daniel Alfredsson’s Game 5 overtime goal against Buffalo in 2007; after taking a pass in the neutral zone and breaking through the Sabres’ defense, Alfredsson directed a soft wrister on goal. It beat Ryan Miller, Ottawa won 3-2 and the captain was mobbed by Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley and the rest of his elated teammates.
