How did Ottawa get within 1 game of the Cup Final last year?

[c9777666]

Their season has been such a surprising disaster it's crazy to think how close they were to not only playing Nashville for the Cup, but having home-ice advantage! (if they score in OT game 7, they would have hosted game 1 vs. the Preds)

How did a team that last year have things go so right suddenly have a ton of things go so wrong this year?

Was it the same issue of other Canadian playoff teams crashing back to Earth (ie Edmonton/Montreal/Calgary) or a reverse Winnipeg?

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[Tobias Kahun]

By winning 11 games.

 

[joe dirte]

Their season has been such a surprising disaster it's crazy to think how close they were to not only playing Nashville for the Cup, but having home-ice advantage! (if they score in OT game 7, they would have hosted game 1 vs. the Preds)

How did a team that last year have things go so right suddenly have a ton of things go so wrong this year?

Was it the same issue of other Canadian playoff teams crashing back to Earth (ie Edmonton/Montreal/Calgary) or a reverse Winnipeg?

they're a mediocre team that got lucky last year. and unlucky this year.

they will be bottom 5 to 10 next year too with potential for bottom 2 or 3 if some things go bad.

 

[Voight]

It was a miracle run that failed. Nobody expected them back in the ECF, and even playoffs was a stretch.

 

[Sting]

Simply put, Karlsson was a top 3 player. He took over every game he played in.

Add the fact that Anderson and Condon knew how to save a puck, and they were a pretty good team. It isn't luck when you bring Pittsburgh to 7 games and are one goal away from the Final.

 

[Agent Zub]

Erik Karlsson full stop.

 

[JackSlater]

Karlsson was great and mediocre teams go on lucky playoff runs sometimes.

 

[Emerz]

Anderson was a huge reason they beat the Bruins, guy played out of his mind at times.

Got some pretty lucky ref breaks in that series as well.

It takes a lot of skill but also quite a bit of luck to win the cup.

 

[Agent Zub]

Anderson was a huge reason they beat the Bruins, guy played out of his mind at times.

Got some pretty lucky ref breaks in that series as well.

It takes a lot of skill but also quite a bit of luck to win the cup.

Anderson was pretty bad until the penguins series

 

[Paris in Flames]

A lot of things went right at the right time.

Oh and Karlsson was the best player in the world at the time.

 

[Emerz]

Anderson was pretty bad until the penguins series

Only allowed 5 goals in the final 3 games, and 2 of them went to OT, one in double OT.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

Karlsson was great and mediocre teams go on lucky playoff runs sometimes.

This is what is comes down to.

They got lucky. It happens. Them being bad this year could be seen coming from a mile away.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Only allowed 5 goals in the final 3 games, and 2 of them went to OT, one in double OT.

Who woulda thunk hot goaltending and your best players playing their best is a recipe for a good run?

 

[JT Kreider]

Luckiest f***ing bounces ever



Brassard bats out of mid air which is fine and dandy.

Then bounces off of Staal, then off of Glass (WTF is Glass even doing out there defending a lead, LOL at everyone saying how great a coach AV is in the fire thread ) then off of Smith, then off of Lundqvist before crossing the goal line.

Come the **** on show me any other goal with that many lucky bounces.

 

[MikeSteaks]

Pure luck.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Pure luck.

No. We had a relatively easy road and we were matched up pretty evenly with Boston and NYR.

 

[Korpse]

They played good hockey. Players didn’t buy in like they did last year.

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

the same way florida got to the final in 96

goon it up and the refs ignore it

 

[Cynick]

They've been an up-and-down team for some time. I think they've rotated making the playoffs/not making the playoffs each year for the past 5+ years. Every once in a while, a team in playoffs is firing on all cyclinders and puts together a pretty good run. Ottawa's run was last year.

 

[IamNotADancer]

Pure luck.

Simple answer.

I have never seen a team win games by the hair of their teeth like Ottawa last year. They had no business even getting past Boston. They played 8 OT games in 19 appearances and won 6 of those by simply being on the ice at the most opportune times (case in point the pinball goal and AV being AV).

I watched every single OTT game in the playoffs last year and they at times looked like an AHL team +Karlsson giving all they have. It was almost like watching Mystery Alaska, except Mystery just somehow kept winning the games.

This year is a good indicator of how "good" this team is and if Karlsson is gone Sens future is bleak. They'll be drafting high for some unforeseeable years.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Probably that guy that they're about to let walk.

 

[Irishguy42]

Luckiest ****ing bounces ever



Brassard bats out of mid air which is fine and dandy.

Then bounces off of Staal, then off of Glass (WTF is Glass even doing out there defending a lead, LOL at everyone saying how great a coach AV is in the fire thread ) then off of Smith, then off of Lundqvist before crossing the goal line.

Come the **** on show me any other goal with that many lucky bounces.

That goal was so annoying. Pinball for real.

 

[JKG33]

The rise and fall of the Sens (and to a lesser extent the Oilers) from last year to now, with basically the same roster, is proof that there is way too much parity in this league. Buying in to the coach's system at the right time helped, but it was mostly parity and the horseshoes they had hidden up their asses.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

the same way florida got to the final in 96

goon it up and the refs ignore it

Why don’t more teams do this?

 

[Wee Baby Seamus]

An all-time level run by their star player.