Ottawa Senators Best of the Decade: Memorable Regular Season Games

Merry Christmas from the Silver Seven staff! With the turn of the decade approaching, it only feels appropriate to take a moment of reflection on the last ten years of Sens hockey. In this five-part series, the writers have gathered at the roundtable to share their most memorable moments, from individual moments to defining storylines.

The first question: In the past decade, what was your most memorable regular season game?

nkb: Sens 4, Penguins 3 (OT) April 7, 2015. This game had it all. The Sens were in the midst of an outrageous run to the playoffs on the back of an unlikely hero in the Hamburglar, and it was a game Ottawa desperately needed against the high-profile Penguins who also very much needed a win to secure a playoff spot. The setting could not have been much better, and the crowd was absolutely electric throughout. The Pens went ahead 3-0 and Ottawa spent the entire game fighting back until Mike Hoffman tied it with less than two minutes remaining and the goalie pulled. Of course, I’m sure you all remember the winner: “Mark Stone, again!”

Ross: I’m gonna go with one from the same run as NKB. February 26, 2015 against the Kings. Andrew Hammond was a few games into his incredible run, but the Sens were really in tough on the California road trip. Shutting out the Ducks, then a night later shutting out the Kings in a 1-0 goaltending battle was the stuff of legend. It’s the game that first showed me that maybe, just maybe, the Sens had something special going on.

Brandon: “Mark Stone!!! Again!!!”

Need I say more?

thedaigle1: February 19th, 2011: Ottawa at Toronto and Craig Anderson posts a shutout in his Senators debut. Toronto outshot Ottawa badly in this one, 47-22, through three periods and overtime (and the Senators had to kill a penalty in OT). Jason Spezza scored the lone goal in the shootout as Anderson stoned Bozak, Grabovski, and Kulemin to inaugurate the career of the greatest goaltender in modern Senators franchise history.

Shaan: The Hamburglar run gave us many entertaining games in the 2014-15 season, and the one that defined it for me was the incredible comeback from 3-0 down against the Penguins, on April 7th, 2015. Everyone knew the Sens were making the playoffs after Mark Stone’s OT winner.

Spencer: It has to be MARK STONE! AGAIN! No questions asked for me. Right near the end of the incredible run to the playoffs, an absolute must win game and they pulled it off in OT with an unreal goal by Stone.

Ary: This one has been difficult for me to peg down, especially with so many of the games shared already bringing up a lot of emotion. The first that came to my mind was the Craig Anderson win over Edmonton, in his first game back after Nicholle’s diagnosis. Anderson is at his best when he’s reactive and agile, trusting his instincts to make saves. That ability was on overdrive that night during a 37-save shutout win.

N_Dew: It’s definitely the outdoor hockey game. The entire setup was great, the atmosphere and venue were rocking, the cold weather actually made it more fun, and what’s more fun then beating the Habs and watching Karlsson dance on the bench?

Colin: Plenty of fantastic moments have been brought up, but as a lover of chaos, one of the first Sens moments that stuck with me was on October 22nd, 2011 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Down 3-2 in the final minute, not only did Spezza tie it up with the net empty, but Milan Michalek put them ahead with six seconds on the clock. It was an electric moment that I won’t forget, in part because of how bad I felt for the people who left early.

Another 2011 moment deserving of some love: Daniel Alfredsson’s 400th career goal in overtime, against the Calgary Flames.

What was your most memorable regular season game? Leave a comment below and let us know, and come back tomorrow for some playoff memories!