Ottawa Senators Goal Of The Year: Bobby, Turris, and Stone Have Highlights To Choose From
By Jack Leiper
Here’s the 4th post in our season-end awards series, take a look at the first three (Most Improved, Needs Improvement, Top Forward).
This time we are focussing on single-game performances, specifically the best goal and the best game of the season. Let’s get into it, starting with the goal.
The winner:
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Best Goal:
BOBBY RYAN (Dec. 11th vs Los Angeles) [98 VOTES]
Dec 11, 2014; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators right wing Bobby Ryan (6) celebrates his goal with defenseman Eric Gryba (62) in the second period against the Los Angeles Kings at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
Bobby Ryan had an up and down season, he was rolling until around late February where he hit a career worst slump. Oddly, Bobby’s slump came at a time where the team was finally finding success, making some question Ryan’s contributions to the Senators.
But up until that point, it was shaping up to be quite the season for Ryan. He had easily been Ottawa’s best forward and had even appeared to step up his games in terms of two-way play. We’ve seen what Ryan can do and the height of his abilities were showcased early December as he scored this beauty while stepping beside Drew Doughty and Brayden Mcnabb, finishing it off on a side-to-side move that beat Jonathan Quick.
Taking a look at it one more time reminds myself of the potential Ryan holds and the high-end side to his game that hopefully we’ll be able to see a little more next season and going forward on Ryan’s 7-year deal.
RUNNER-UP:
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MARK STONE (Mar. 17th vs Carolina) [48 VOTES]
Mar 17, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone (61) scores the game winning goal in overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Ottawa Senators defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
This one got my vote.
An incredible move by Kyle Turris led to him feeding the puck out front for Mark Stone, who right in the middle of his hot streak, snuck the puck by Cam Ward to give Ottawa a 2-1 OT victory with their season on the line.
We’ve seen Kyle Turris attempt this move without success many times, but it’s nice to see him pick a page out of Ales Hemsky’s book to score a highlight reel goal vs Carolina.
In terms of meaning, Ryan’s goal doesn’t come anywhere close to Stone’s OT winner. Ottawa is in the middle of their impossible late run and Mark Stone is the hero.
Sure, it’s Carolina, but the team from Raleigh has given Ottawa some serious trouble in recent memory, making this goal and victory so much sweeter than a normal victory over an NHL bottom-feeder.
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Honourable Mentions:
Mark Stone vs PIT OT Winner [VIDEO]
Mike Hoffman vs Columbus [VIDEO]
Kyle Turris vs Anaheim [VIDEO]
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That’s how it breaks down, Ryan’s goal received a large majority of the vote, but Kyle Turris’ set up to Mark Stone is no slouch either. Mix that in with a few of the other mentioned, and Senators’ fans had a quite a bit to cheer about this season.
Next: UFA Profile: Matt O'Connor