The Senators packed up for Pennsylvania Monday, thrown right back into the playoff fray after a couple of days of leisure.
About Wayne Scanlan
It has been my pleasure to carry a flag for the Citizen sports department for 25 years, and a privilege to write a column since 1991. As the NHL Senators took over our town, I shifted in the mid-1990s from a general sports columnist to a mostly hockey guy. Representing this newspaper and its chain I have covered men's and women's hockey at several Olympic Games. London was my 10th Olympic assignment, as part of the Postmedia team at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in England.
Along the ride I have been fortunate to cover the Tour de France, twice, and numerous Stanley Cup playoffs and Grey Cup championships. The Senators will dictate further travel plans.
The lower seeds have all the fun.
Meet hockey’s Defiant Ones. Among other things, the Ottawa Senators defy logic. They finished 27th in NHL scoring, and yet outscored the favoured Montreal Canadiens 20-9 in a five-game series.
In the end, Paul MacLean’s true respect for the Montreal Canadiens came a-gushing.
The Sens didn’t spoil the opportunity to rack up a first series victory under coach Paul MacLean.
Not surprisingly, Senators head coach Paul MacLean wasn’t about to question the calls late in the game that went Ottawa’s way.
This is why they play the games, and why teams find hope when they settle among the lowest of seeds.