The Ottawa Senators finished their season on home ice in front of 19,007 people in attendance.
That number wasn't all Sens fans, with the blue and white jerseys of their rival visible in parts of the crowd. But the team's prioritization of season ticket holders and newsletter followers in its ticket sales seems to have paid off.
Although the Senators couldn't come back from 3-0 down in their first-round series to force a potentially historic Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Sens crowd gave a standing ovation and chanted "Go Sens Go" after the game for a team with lots to look forward to.
The fans also chanted "Brady, Brady, Brady" in honor of Ottawa's captain, Brady Tkachuk, who scored his fourth goal of the series Thursday night to cut the Leafs' lead to 2-1. David Perron tied the game in the third period before Leafs left winger Max Pacioretty retook the lead in an eventual 4-2 Toronto victory.
Tkachuk led the Senators in scoring in the series with seven points, one for every season the team missed the playoffs as it went through a full rebuild and worked its way back up with a new core.
The 25-year-old captain remarked on the crowd's support at the end of the game and over the years.
"It's been a long eight years for them, and to experience it, honestly, I don't really realize the impact that it's made on me and this team," Tkachuk told reporters in the dressing room post-game. "Just really want to do it for them. They were absolutely amazing, and I know it sucks right now, but I really can't wait for what the future holds."
Tkachuk was Ottawa's first player drafted when the rebuild unofficially began. Only two players have been with the organization for longer, including defenseman Thomas Chabot, who was drafted 18th overall in 2015.
While Chabot played his first NHL game in 2016-17, he did not play in the Senators' run to the Eastern Conference final that campaign. This year was his first time on the ice experiencing Stanley Cup playoff hockey.
"It was f-----g unbelievable, to be honest," Chabot told reporters. "The fans, everybody, the city, everyone. Get off the plane the other night from the airport, there's about 30, 40 people there waiting at whatever on a Tuesday night at 1 a.m. You don't get that anywhere else.
"We have said it all along, even in the tough years, we do have the best fans in the league, I believe. They've been there all eight years that I've been... I think that's what hurts the most right now is we thought for sure coming back home, we were going to pull it off for them."
The Senators drafted seven players in between their playoff appearances who played for them against the Maple Leafs this post-season. They include Tim Stutzle (five points in the round), Jake Sanderson (overtime-winner in Game 4), Shane Pinto (shorthanded breakaway goal in Game 5) and Drake Batherson (scored the Senators' first playoff goal since May 2017).
Ottawa also made trades and free agent signings to strengthen the squad as it looked to take the next step. On came Claude Giroux, Linus Ullmark, David Perron, Dylan Cozens and more.
"I'm really happy with the way that we have taken strides to become a better, a more stable team, that's going – hopefully, for a long time going to always be up there and battle for the playoffs and the Stanley Cup," goaltender Ullmark said to reporters.
Toronto nearly swept the Senators in the Battle of Ontario, but Ottawa won Game 4 at home and Game 5 in enemy territory to raise questions about whether the Leafs could finish the job. The Senators could have become the 11th team in NHL history to tie a series 3-3 after trailing 3-0. The stat that the Leafs have been 1-13 in closeout games since 2018 circulated all week long.
The Leafs are now 2-13 in closeout games during that span. The top seed in the Atlantic Division will now face the defending Cup champions, the Florida Panthers.
That matchup should remind everyone how challenging the Atlantic Division can be. The Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have won the Stanley Cup a combined three times in five years. The Leafs have the longest active playoff streak. The rebuilding Montreal Canadiens even made the playoffs. The Boston Bruins earned a record-breaking 135 points in 2022-23 and only dropped out of the playoff race this year, opening a spot for Ottawa to take.
That means for the team and its fan base to see more progress and playoff hockey, there's still much work to do.
"Crazy thing is, it's not going to get easier – next year is going to get harder to get back in the same position," Perron said to the media. "If we asked the team over there, that's what they would tell you. You make one step, and then the next step is a little bit even harder to win one round, win two rounds, all that. But I'm proud of these guys, the way we worked all year to get better and put ourselves in this situation."
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