The 2012-13 season for the Ottawa Senators was quite fun. They had a ton of injuries, but they overcame them, and went to the second round of the playoffs after they easily disposed of the Montreal Canadiens. Things were looking up for the young team. But then it quickly changed, as beloved Daniel Alfredsson left for Detroit, and although the team traded for Bobby Ryan, it felt like something was missing with the team.
Ultimately Ottawa had a very disappointing season, and the only reason they looked a bit respectable was thanks to a five-game winning streak to end the season. People thought that perhaps last season was just an anomaly, and this season they’d be better off. But Jason Spezza wanted out (and management wanted to trade him too), and once again the team Captain had left for another team.
There was some optimism at the beginning of the year like every year, but at the time it still wasn’t very fun to cheer for this team. Ottawa got off to a pretty good start, but by December they looked like they’d be cellar dwellers, and many fans began to embrace the notion to tank. After the last two captains had left town, and now they were looking like a bottom-five team in the league, the Senators were an easy target for fans around the league.
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Senators fans know that they’ll always be trash-talked by other fan bases for their zero Stanley Cups (despite being around only since 1992), and it’s just something we have to deal with. But that sting is lessened extremely when the team is winning. Unfortunately for Ottawa and the fans, they hadn’t been doing too much of that recently.
Then things changed so quickly. It all began against the Montreal Canadiens, where Andrew Hammond got his first career start, and also his first career win. At the time it was just nice to beat Montreal, but nothing more was thought of it. But just a short week later, some hope was injected into fans and players alike. Back to back shutouts against Anaheim and Los Angeles were sensational efforts, and another win against San Jose to sweep the California trip made me (and many others) believe that maybe this team is for real.
Since that first game against Montreal, Ottawa is 13-1-1, thanks in large part to the amazing (and unexpected) play of Hammond. With each win, the fans can feel a playoff spot get closer and closer, even if the teams ahead of them are winning. Before the game against the Canadiens over a month ago, the team’s playoff chances sat at 4.24%. Somehow in a month that number has risen all the way to 50.36%. Those are SportsClubStats numbers, which are slightly more optimistic than HockeyStats.ca’s numbers, who have them at 42.6%. Still, it’s amazing how far they have come.
Some people have pointed out that if Ottawa misses the playoffs, this stretch could hurt in the long run because they won’t get a good draft pick. While that is a bit worrying, I say winning trumps all. The difference between the 7th pick and 14-16th isn’t that great, and Ottawa could still get a quality player (hopefully defenseman) at one of those spots. As fans, we shouldn’t worry about the draft for once, and instead just enjoy this historic stretch that the team is on right now.
This stretch of games will go down in history as one of the best of all time, and definitely one of the most fun and entertaining of all time
I see the concerns, but it is so much fun to watch the team right now. Every game is entertaining, stressful, and ultimately satisfying. I have the utmost confidence every game that they can get the job done, and that would have seemed crazy a month ago. Every game the Senators play is so important, and this is essentially their playoffs.
The hype of the “Hamburglar” has taken a life of itself, and it has to be one of the funniest things to happen to the team. Of course it will end eventually when Hammond can no longer sustain himself, but for now it’s insanely funny watching the burgers rain down from the Canadian Tire Centre and having Curtis Lazar eat said burgers. The fans have become extremely passionate, like we know they are.
The crowd against the Bruins looked amazing, and it’s a sign that Ottawa does have a very good fan base. The sad thing is a lot of things depend on the team’s success, so when they are doing well, the fans become just as excited as any other fans are. But it’s obvious when they are struggling, as evidenced by some of the poor attendances. The twitter experience however, is almost similar to being at the rink as it’s evident that these people live and breathe hockey.
It’s nice to see the team finally playing well, and that fans are confident about their favourite team for the first time in a while. Even if the Senators don’t make the playoff this year, this stretch of games will go down in history as one of the best of all time, and definitely one of the most fun and entertaining of all time.
The fans are finally getting what they deserve, and hopefully that also includes a playoff berth.