Was Pageau’s four-goal night the greatest Senators playoff performance?

Jean-Gabriel had a game for the ages on Sunday, scoring four goals in a 6-5 double-OT victory over the Rangers. It was a great individual performance, but was it the greatest performance in Senators playoff history? Here’s a look at some other memorable moments.

Daniel Alfredsson - multiple entries

Alfie has been the heart and soul of this team for so long, it’s hard to pick just one great moment by him. He was arguably the biggest reason the Sens made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, and many think he should’ve won the Conn Smythe in a losing effort. A couple games that stick out to me include his shorthanded goal in the final effort to tie the game against the Penguins in 2013 (a game the Sens would eventually win), and his OT winner in the Eastern Conference Final in 2007 to send the Sens to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Matt Carkner’s 3OT winner - Game 5, 2010 Quaterfinals

Ottawa was down 3-1 in the series, and were playing for their playoff lives (with Pascal Leclaire in net) through two OTs with no winner. In the third overtime, Carkner’s point shot deflected off a defenceman and into the net, sending Ottawa back home for Game 6. I actually don’t remember Bob Cole calling this game (and at this point, he still said “Ottawa wins the se...game” and “In second overtime” when it was clearly the third OT).

Carkner also had a memorable moment a couple years later when he went to town on Brian Boyle for taking liberties with Erik Karlsson.

Chris Neil - Game 3, 2007 SCF

Most remember this as Neil’s best game. He only scored one point (a goal), but he also laid the body and fought, setting the tone for the whole game. It came just one day after his first child was born, giving it extra importance. When Neil hit 1000 games, this was the first game of his everyone remembered when thinking of his career highlights.

Patrick Lalime - 2002 Playoffs, Round 1

Lalime’s career playoff stat line is mind-boggling: .926 save percentage, 1.77 GAA. It’s just that one game (don’t actually click that link) has forever wrecked his memory in our minds. But one series in particular stands out: the first round in 2002, when he allowed two goals IN TOTAL over five games against the Flyers. He posted a shutout in Game 2, 3, and 4. He finished with a .985 save percentage and a GAA of 0.38. I don’t have stats to back it up, but that may be the biggest shutdown of a team a goalie has ever had in the playoffs.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Game 3, 2013 Quarterfinals

Until recently, this was the defining moment of JGP’s career. Let’s remember he’d only played nine NHL regular season games to that point, primarily in a shutdown role. He still qualified as a rookie in the following NHL season. The Sens and Canadiens had split the first two games. Then Pageau took over Game 3, scoring a hat-trick en route to a 6-1 destruction. It led to spontaneous chants of his name to “Olé, olé, olé”, some that’s stuck with him the rest of his career. It led to Montreal trying to goon it up and getting destroyed at that too. The Habs nearly won Game 4, but really, this game kind of spelled the end for them. It also made Pageau only the second Sens player to ever record a playoff hat-trick after, of course, Alfie.

I think it’s safe to say Pageau’s four-goal performance was the biggest. First off, it involved four goals. One of them was also a game-winner in double-OT. It essentially saved the Sens from losing a game, whereas a hat-trick in a blowout isn’t as important. So what say you? Have I forgot any important playoff moments?

What was the biggest individual playoff performance by a Senator?