Clock strikes midnight on Cinderella Senators
Ottawa falls 1 goal shy of improbable Stanley Cup final berth after losing to defending champ Pens
The combative, comeback spirit of the Cinderella-like Ottawa Senators was finally extinguished by a knuckle-ball shot off the stick of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Chris Kunitz about eight minutes before midnight on Thursday.
It turns out the glass slipper didn't quite fit after all. But it was quite a post-season ride for the likable Senators — one that ended just a goal shy of the Stanley Cup final, in double overtime of Game 7 of the East final, because of more brilliance from Sidney Crosby.
Save for a couple of concussion scares this season, not much has gone wrong for Crosby in the past 39 months. He won his second Olympic gold medal, his first world championship, his second Stanley Cup, his first World Cup, and now he and the Penguins have a chance to become the first repeat NHL champs since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998.
Crosby hopped off the bench to set up Kunitz at the 5:09 mark of the second OT. Kunitz's shot fluttered over the right shoulder of Senators goalie Craig Anderson, who was screened by teammate Jean-Gabriel Pageau, giving Pittsburgh a 3-2 victory.
But as much as the hockey world celebrated the Penguins' poise in advancing to play the Western Conference champs the Nashville Predators in the final, there was plenty to admire about the East finalists from Ottawa.
Bryan Murray may not be running the Senators any longer — he stepped down as general manager 13 months ago to take an advisory role. But the same fight and class the 74-year-old has exhibited in his three-year battle with Stage 4 colon cancer was evident with this season's edition of the Senators.
Senators overcome adversity
First and foremost, there was Anderson. His wife, Nicholle, was diagnosed with a rare form of throat cancer last fall. The goalie took a leave of absence a few times this season to be at her side, but always returned in fine form.
Anderson is 36 and this may have been his last shot at a Cup. He certainly played well enough to prolong his season in the last two games, stopping 84 of 88 shots. Maybe we shouldn't count him out for another run next season.
There also was defenceman Marc Methot. Two months ago, in a game against Pittsburgh, he skated off the ice with the tip of his left pinky dangling on his digit after a Crosby slash.
Methot matched Crosby stride for stride in the series finale, shadowing the game's best player and frustrating him. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan noticed this and, in the second overtime, saw an opportunity to send his captain out against the Senators' third defence pairing with an on-the-fly change. Crosby finally found himself free to set up Kunitz for his second of the game.
There also was Erik Karlsson, the game's best defenceman. He played a whopping 39 minutes and 33 seconds on Thursday. He wasn't perfect, but he was the most exciting player on the ice. He is the Senators' leader and exhibited class in the agony of defeat.
There was Clarke MacArthur, rebounding after almost two full seasons on the sideline with two concussions. There also was Pageau and his remarkable offensive showing.
'They put their soul into it'
There also was a master psychologist of a coach in Guy Boucher. You can go on and on with this team. In fact, Boucher was asked after Game 7 about what he had to say about this group after his first season as Ottawa's bench boss.
"Do you have two hours?" he said. "That's how long it would take to talk about everybody and everything that these guys have had to go through and endure — a lot of the stuff that is known and some stuff that is not.
"They gave it their all. They put their soul into it, and it's really tough... It was a real special, special group."
It will be interesting to see how this special group follows up this act next season. Boucher seemed to think the Senators will be just fine because it's not about Anderson, or Karlsson, or Pageau, or MacArthur or Methot — it's a collection of outstanding people who came together.
"I think when you start pointing guys out, you're forgetting about the most important thing — this was a real team," Boucher said. "The reason why we're here is because it was a team, and every player at some moment or another had a terrific contribution, whether it was on the ice in terms of results or it was inside of the room or it was off ice.
"[Anderson] and the entire team have displayed a lot of courage, a lot of resilience, and a lot of caring. And I think it started with the caring, and that's why it's very tough."
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