Hammond steals another as Senators move on to playoffs

SENATORS 3, FLYERS 1

PHILADELPHIA – The improbable has become a dead certainty.

On the last day of the regular season, the Ottawa Senators punched their ticket to the post-season and they did so in style, beating the Flyers in regulation to assure a place among the top eight teams of the Eastern Conference.

Fans and players alike will have to wait until Saturday night to learn the Senators final place in the standings and first-round opponent, depending on the outcomes of other games. We know this much. The Senators have avoided a first-round matchup against the first-place New York Rangers, and that is good news.

Up next, Montreal or Tampa Bay.

After a two-month pursuit of this singular moment, staff and players didn’t mind waiting a few more hours to see where they will go for round one of the playoffs next week.

First, though, a few precious moments to reflect on an historic push after being 14 points out of a playoff spot on Feb. 10.

“What an unbelievable run,” said centre Kyle Turris, breaking into a huge grin in the boisterous Senators dressing room. “Now the fun part beings.”

The fun part: The Senators first playoff appearance since 2013.

The man of the hour, the man of the two-month march, goaltender Andrew Hammond was again spectacular, making 34 saves. In his spare time, the Hamburglar saved the day.

With the win Hammond ran his incredible record to 20-1-2. Yes, Hammond is a 20-game winner. If he were a baseball pitcher he’d be in line for the Cy Young Award. As it is, he is the main reason the Senators are in the playoffs today. Throughout, Hammond has been there at his team’s hour of need.

“I’ve never had a stretch of hockey like this in my life,” said the soft-spoken hero. “I don’t think it’s something anyone can explain. It’s just been so much fun coming to the rink every day.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, but (Sunday) morning when we wake up we’ll be in the playoffs. It’s a really special feeling for our group, to see the hill we were able to climb. There’s a lot of satisfaction, a lot of hard work that went into this.”

Hammond cautioned higher-seeded teams that the Senators don’t intend to just show up in the playoffs “and go home.

“From childhood, everyone’s goal is to win the Stanley Cup” Hammond said. “There’s no reason to stop now. It’s not the top seeds that win it every year, it’s the team that gets hot at the right time.”

In his 23 starts, Hammond allowed only five third period goals. This guy’s a starter and a closer. “It’s a really special feeling for our group, to see the hill we were able to climb. There’s a lot of satisfaction, and there was a lot of hard work that went into this.

Captain Erik Karlsson said he was proud of his teammates for “staying in the moment” and never quitting.

“I’m proud of everybody,” Karlsson said. “Everyone did a great job of stepping up at different times. I think the group has matured a lot through the process.”

Unlike recent games, the Senators didn’t seem to have their legs for the first 40 minutes, leading to some consternation among team staff, behind the bench and up in the press box. Head coach Dave Cameron gave his troops a loud vocal blast not long before the Senators winning goal.

For long stretches of the middle period, the Senators were in chase mode as the Flyers worked the boards.

After killing off a carry-over penalty from the first period, the Flyers tied the game 1-1 early in the second after some sloppy work by Ottawa defenders. The Senators won a faceoff in their end but lost possession and allowed Brayden Schenn to circle out front and get the puck to Matt Read at the side of the net. Read did a nice job of settling the puck with his skate before shooting the puck into an open net.

Hammond was then called on to make a couple of huge saves to preserve the tie as the Senators and their fans had some nervous moments. Jakub Voracek was in alone and Hammond got the pad down on his redirect. Earlier, he flicked the left pad to stop Michael Raffl in the high slot during a power play.

If ever they needed to cash in further elements of their charmed existence, it was during this period, as they got out-shot and outplayed by the Flyers but regained the lead off a rare end-to-end rush by defenceman Marc Methot. Methot threw the puck out front where J.G. Pageau converted, chipping a shot over the shoulder of goaltender Steve Mason.

The goal came as a massive relief after the Senators myriad nervous moments. Among them was a late period shot by Raffl that leaked through Hammond but stopped short of the goal line.

The Senators got on the board early, and got their power play going at the same time. They can thank Mason for the gift, he gave the puck away at the side of the net, which Turris and Clarke MacArthur graciously accepted and fed to Mark Stone for an easy tap in into an open net.

It was Stone’s 25th of the season as he continued to impress Calder Trophy voters in the final moments of the regular season. In the third period, Stone added goal No. 26, stripping the puck off Voracek before breaking in alone on Mason, beating him with a low shot. Classic Stone fare.

Stone finishes with 64 points on the season, tied with Johnny Gaudreau of Calgary in the rookie race, but Stone gets the edge with more goals.

Impressive SENS, If Stoner don’t win the Calder I should give him mine. #Bigtime

— Daniel Alfredsson (@DAlfredsson11) April 11, 2015

Stone doesn’t know if he enough to win a majority of votes from the Professional Hockey Writers Association, but said, “I’m more excited about the playoffs than anything.”
“Rookie of the year,” Turris said of his winger, Stone. “He played unbelievable. When we needed him most he was amazing. He does everything … he’s the whole package.”

The Flyers came close to scoring on a first period power play but Hammond came up big, including a rebound opportunity for Schenn.
The Flyers outshot Ottawa 14-5 in the first period but the Senators went to their room pleased with their situation. Less than two hours later, they were over the moon.