Senators Flying High

If they haven’t started already (yeah, right), “Gentlemen, start your engines!”

It. Is. On.

Has there been – in your, and my estimation – a race to the finish like the one we are witnessing and will witness for the next three weeks?

It is gob-smacking entertainment. Night by night. The NHL’s Eastern Conference standings flip-flop more than a Carney stance on Iran (that was thrown in just for our publisher. You’re welcome. Insert smiley-face).

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

Being about eight-billion years old, I can seriously tell you I’ve never seen anything like this in my lifetime. The chase for the post-season in the Eastern Conference is nuts.

As we sit this morning – being March 26^th – your Ottawa Senators are gripping hard onto the final wild card position. Full credit too. This is a team most (including me) had written off countless times since the turn of the calendar. The goaltending was awful, the secondary offence beyond Tim Stutzle was jelly-kneed, and captain Brady Tkachuk seemed far more interested in defending the mighty USA than sticking up for his northern team.

That hard-running water though chose to head in a different direction since the Olympic break. Linus Ullmark found his game (where it was previously, no one has a clear answer), Tkachuk finally showed up, and goals were arriving from a variety of sources.

But.

But.

But.

If you believe the work is done here, forget about it.

Ottawa enjoyed the luxury of facing the moribund NY Rangers, free-falling Toronto Maple Leafs and equally free-falling Detroit Red Wings in back-to-back-to-backs (my Windsor, Ont. buddy Manny Paiva hailed the Wings as ‘The Titanic.’)

But as they say, you can only deal with the cards you’ve been dealt and anything but a three-game sweep by Ottawa would have been surprising.

And this is where the toast really starts to brown.

The Senators face a very tough eight-game pack starting tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. No more hall passes on the horizon.

The Pens have Sid back and they have Geno back and they are a legitimate playoff contender. Apparently, the Pens also feature a completely revitalized Erik Karlsson.

Actually, scratch the ‘apparently.’ Erik’s been terrific. He’s banged home 11 goals and picked up 54 points in his 66 games so far this season. (Anyone remember those kind of days here?).

From there, the Senators get to dance with Tampa twice, Florida twice (still a thorn in Ottawa’s side despite the Panthers’ showing this season), conference leading Buffalo, Minnesota and Carolina.

Tough sledding to be sure.

But as Ottawa-cheerleading TSN will tell us, and appropriately so, this Eastern Ontario team is something special. The idea that this fatigued club, down to the skin of their defence, could step into Detroit and take down a rested, and you would think motivated, hockey team is/was impressive.

Actually, it was monumental and tells us where this current Ottawa team sits, mentally.

That’s why we’re calling it now (like another unctuous floor-crossing to the federal Liberals): Ottawa is in.

The Senators, like it or not Habs fans or Leafs fans, have drive. There’s something in the water in the nation’s capital; Kool-Aid, vodka, Molson Ex? Whatever it is, it’s digestible and working.

The team is motivated and in a fully positive mindset.

Perfect timing?

Yup.

Of the other bunching now (and since we’re donning the prediction’s hat), we cannot see the Red Wings rebounding. It’s another season lost for the winged-wheel.

Columbus?

With ageless Rick Bowness at the helm, this team will be tight to the chase.

Boston?

In.

The Pens?

The Islanders might have a say in that play.

And finally, Les Canadiens de Montreal?

We’ve liked this team from the very start of the preseason. If they can stomach somewhat questionable netminding, it’s a given. Lots of savvy and lots of smarts on this club . . . from top to bottom.

Enjoy the next three weeks folks.

SENATORS WEEK AHEAD:

Thursday, March 26: Pittsburgh at Ottawa (7 pm)

Saturday, March 28: Ottawa at Tampa (1 pm)

Tuesday, March 31: Ottawa at Florida (7 pm)

Thursday, April 2: Buffalo at Ottawa (7 pm)

thegrossgame@yahoo.com

Photo: Courtesy CBC