On Saturday night, the Ottawa Senators evened their Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals series against the New York Rangers at a game apiece thanks to Chris Neil's game-winner 1:17 into overtime.
It's fitting to take a look back and salute the Senators team from 15 years earlier, one whose season ended in the first round of the playoffs in sudden death in the seventh game.
Okay, the 1996-97 Ottawa Senators weren't going to win the Stanley Cup even if they had gotten past the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals, but the Edmonton Oilers' upset victory over the Dallas Stars in the opening round that same year is still talked about today as one of the greatest moments in Stanley Cup playoff history.
Today, let's salute the '96-97 Senators, who still had a terrific year as they made the playoffs for the first time in the modern Sens' history thanks to goaltender Ron Tugnutt's performance down the stretch. For his stellar goaltending, Tugnutt was named the NHL's player of the month for April.
The Senators were the ultimate Cinderella story, as they made the playoffs by winning their final three games of the regular season to finish with 77 points and knock off both the Hartford Whalers (75) and Washington Capitals (75). The Sens also had to win their final game to clinch the playoff spot, beating Dominik Hasek and the Sabres 1-0 in front of the sellout crowd of 18,500 in Ottawa on Steve Duchesne's dramatic goal with four minutes remaining. Tugnutt stopped all 17 Buffalo shots for his third shutout of the season, with none bigger than that goose-egg in the season finale.
Though it was heart-breaking the way the Senators went on to lose to the Sabres in the playoffs--losing in Game Seven in OT--it was still a successful season for Ottawa.
Here's the goal that ended the Senators' season, courtesy this YouTube video uploaded by a4u2fear:
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