Sens at Land's End

Way, way back, a long time ago, I decided I would make a series of posts reviewing the Sens’ season month by month. I thought it would be a good way to pass the time while there was no hockey going on. Then June and July turned out to be weirdly hockey-filled for offseason months. I didn’t really feel a need to kill time, and so the only portion of the season I reviewed was the pre-season.

Now, however, summer hockey season is basically over. There are no more development camps, and no more frenzied days dedicated to getting new players. The Ottawa coaching staff is complete and the roster seems mostly set, with only Andrej Meszaros left to sign (and of course any shocking trades BM the GM might happen to make). In other words, my hockey withdrawal is setting in. And when you’re in withdrawal, you’ll do anything to get your fix, no matter how painful. In that spirit, I will now continue my season review.

Episode II – The Return of the Sens (October)

The season started off with a fantastic, awesome bang as Bryan Murray managed to re-sign Dany Heatley to a six-year contract extension at a cap hit of $7.5 million just hours before the team took the ice for their first game. From there, things got better and better as the Sens flattened the competition (except Carolina) all month, allowing only 19 goals against in 10 games — five of those 19 coming in the month’s one loss to Carolina — while scoring 34. Who could ever have guessed how craptastic the defence would turn later in the season? Yes, they were the class of the NHL at this point, and media even compared them to the 1976-1977 Montreal Canadiens, a team that went 60-8-12 and set the record for most points in a season by an NHL team. It looked as though my theory about the team’s desire to get back to the Final driving them to brilliance would come to pass. The team had a bit of swagger about it and all was puppies and sunshine in the capital as the city brought out the red again for the raising of the Eastern Conference Championship banner at the home opener, and newspapers reported that Heatley’s negotiations had taken so long to finish not because he wanted more money than the team offered, but because he wanted a longer deal. Aww! Feel the love. It was a great time to be a Sens fan. Like all the best tragic protagonists, we lived our lives in a permanent state of happiness and calm, with no inkling of the terrible and cruel fall that was gradually creeping our way.

Memorable Moments: After signing his shiny new contract, Heatley started the season in spectacular fashion, scoring two goals — one to tie the game with five minutes remaining in the third period and another to win the game in overtime — in the season opener against Toronto and a third in the second game of the season, putting him on pace for 123 goals. (It’d have been cool if he’d done it.) On October 13, the Sens set a record for the fastest three goals in team history when they scored three times in 52 seconds on Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers. Nick Foligno scored his first career goal against Montreal on October 18 and celebrated with a jump in tribute to his father. Another first: Brian Elliott made his NHL debut on October 10 against Atlanta, making 28 of 29 saves.

Eye on a Player: Heatley’s heroics aside, Martin Gerber was the story for October. Gerber was named a star in four of the eight games he played in and speculation began as to what might happen when Ray Emery, who spent a week or so on a conditioning stint with Binghamton this month, returned to the lineup. Emery did play one game for the big team on October 20 and he performed well, but Gerber returned the following game and was named the first star after a 31 save performance.

Sens’ Record in October: 9-1-0