Canadiens Take Game 1 as Senators Blow Perfect Chance to Turn Series on Its Head

You blew it, Ottawa Senators.

Things aren’t going to get easier for you. You had a glorious chance to make a massive statement and continue your Cinderella run, and you failed to take advantage.

The 4-3 defeat against the Montreal Canadiens in the opening-round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Wednesday is just one game in a best-of-seven series. But what a game to lose. Maybe the most favorable circumstances you’ll get.

You came in with two months of momentum.

You were facing a Canadiens team missing its top goal scorer, Max Pacioretty.

The opportunities kept mounting for you, too. Veteran blueliner Andrei Markov scored into his own net in the first period to give you a 1-0 lead in a road game.

P.K. Subban was tossed for a slash in the second period, leaving your opponents a man short for much of the game. And not just any man, either. Subban is their superstar defenseman and potential future captain. You scored twice on the ensuing five-minute power play, which included an early portion of five-on-three play.

You slipped three pucks in total past landslide Hart and Vezina Trophy favorite Carey Price and the stingiest regular-season group in the NHL.

But you couldn’t pull off a victory. And that may have been your best chance to get a leg up in this series.

The loss certainly puts a dent in the Senators’ spirits after a remarkable couple of months saw them climb out of a 14-point deficit to claim the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Their run was magical and inspiring, as the close-knit club played dedicated and desperate hockey for each other, their ailing general manager who has been battling colon cancer and their assistant coach Mark Reeds, who died on the eve of these playoffs following his own fight with the disease.

Has the magic run out now that they’ve accomplished their short-term goal of qualifying for the postseason? Did they breathe a sigh of relief and forget to bring their shoulders back up?

Andrew Hammond, the goaltender who helped the Sens to a 21-3-3 finish to the regular season, looked like a guy whose resume shows little NHL experience and certainly none in the playoffs.

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Allowing four or more goals against is something The Hamburglar has done just twice in his brilliant, albeit brief NHL career so far.

With a chance to prove the many who picked the Sens as favorites over the much higher-seeded Habs right, the visitors had no answer for the Canadiens’ fourth line.

Brian Flynn enjoyed a career-high three-point night after going pointless through nine games following his arrival from the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline, Torrey Mitchell netted a goal and Brandon Prust earned an assist for a total of five points from the grinders.

Aside from a fortunate bounce and the pair of power-play goals—which were quickly negated when they allowed a short-handed marker from the Habs to give the home side the lead in between—the Senators failed to keep the pressure on Price.

They could not silence the hostile crowd in a notoriously hostile building. It’s a deafening environment. And the Sens will not get a break from that on Friday in Montreal for Game 2.

In fact, even the Senators' home games will feature many of the same chants in favor of the Canadiens, thanks to a large portion of the Ottawa population that remains loyal to Les Habitants and flocks to the arena in their red and white colors every time the Original Six club comes to town.

The Senators are no slouches. They deserve to be in the playoffs. The series has at least three more games and as many six left.

Sens winger Clarke MacArthur spoke to Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch after the game.

They are capable of winning games against the Canadiens.

The circumstances that seemed to fall in their favor just won’t be as conducive to victory on Friday.

Pacioretty could return for Game 2.

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Barring a suspension to Subban for his hack at rookie Mark Stone’s wrist, which seemed to do some damage, the Montreal defense will be back to full strength, too.

That’s why Senators head coach Dave Cameron lobbied heavily for supplemental discipline in his postgame press conference, per Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.

The not-so-subtle threat followed postgame rough stuff from the Sens on the ice looking to exact a little revenge.

“We didn’t like each other before this series so this is no surprise,” Kyle Turris, one of the Sens goal scorers, said on the CBC broadcast after finishing with 16 penalty minutes following the buzzer brawl.

If nothing else, it’s created an anticipation of a physical series heading into the next game—even if that series turns out to be shorter than we thought.

Steve Macfarlane has covered the NHL hockey for more than a decade, including seven seasons following the Calgary Flames for the Calgary Sun. Follow him on Twitter at @macfarlaneHKY.