Though the Senators didn't move on, it was still a successful season as they qualified for the playoffs--battling the Boston Bruins all season long for the Northeast Division title before finishing as the No. 8 seed in the East--when everybody expected them to be among the worst teams in hockey.
Still, 0-5 all-time in Game Sevens? There's also the fact that in four of those series, the Sens couldn't win important home games to close things out. In the other year, 2004, the Senators could have clinched home-ice advantage with a home victory in their regular-season finale, but lost, and wound up playing Game Seven that year on the road.
Here are the five series for Ottawa which went to a seventh and deciding game:
1997 - Lost 3-2 in OT in Buffalo, first round. Though the seventh-seeded Senators were heavy underdogs, they were facing a Sabres team that was without Hart Trophy-winning goalie Dominik Hasek, who was injured. Ottawa took a 3-2 series lead against Buffalo backup goalie Steve Shields, winning 4-1 in Game Five. Alas, the Sens couldn't close out the series at home in Game Six, losing 3-0 to set up the seventh and deciding game.
2002 - Lost 3-0 in Toronto, second round. The Sens were again the lower seed, finishing six ponts behind the Maple Leafs (100-94). Again, Ottawa won Game Five on the road, 4-2, taking a 3-2 series lead. But in Game Six, the Sens lost 4-3 at the Corel Centre, setting up the return trip to the Air Canada Centre.
2003 - Lost 3-2 vs New Jersey at home, third round. In 2003, the Senators had their best ever season, winning the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best team in the regular season. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Sens fell behind the Devils three games to one before rallying to win 3-1 and 2-1, forcing a seventh game at the Corel Centre. With the game tied 2-2 late in regulation in Game Seven, the Devils' Jeff Friesen beat goaltender Patrick Lalime for the series-winner, ending the Senators' hopes for a Stanley Cup Finals berth.
2004 - Lost 4-1 in Toronto, first round. This time, the Sens (102) finished just one point behind the Maple Leafs (103) in this 4-vs-5 first-round matchup. In this round of the Battle of Ontario, Ottawa would have had home-ice advantage, except on the final day of the regular season, the Senators lost 6-0 to Toronto at the Corel Centre to relinquish it. Thus, the Leafs earned home-ice advantage, and went on to eliminate the Senators in Game Seven at the ACC. With the series tied 1-1, Ottawa lost Game Three by a score of 2-0 at home before winning 4-1 at home in Game Four. The Leafs' 2-0 victory in Toronto in Game Five--Ed Belfour's third shutout of the series--pushed the Sens to the brink, but Ottawa responded with a double-overtime victory in Game Six at home to force a seventh game. It was the Sens' fourth playoff series loss to Toronto in four tries.
2012 - Lost 2-1 in New York, first round. Craig Anderson's 41-save, 1-0 shutout in Game Five at Madison Square Garden gave the Sens a 3-2 series lead, giving Ottawa a shot to wrap the series up at home. But it was the Rangers' All-Star goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, who came through in Game Six, as New York won 3-2 in Ottawa to stave off elimination. Led by Lundqvist, the Rangers completed the comeback with a 2-1 victory at MSG in Game Seven. (Going into Game Seven, Anderson was 8-1 with a 1.42 GAA and .957 save percentage in his career, including playoffs, at MSG.)
Unfortunately for the Senators, they just couldn't win some of those big games at the Corel Centre (now known as Scotiabank Place), and couldn't advance in those series.
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