1918–19 Ottawa Senators season

The Senators opened the 1918-19 season on the road against the Montreal Canadiens on December 21, as Ottawa defeated Montreal 5-2. Frank Nighbor scored twice and strong goaltending by Clint Benedict led the Senators to the win.

Ottawa's next game was on December 26, and was their home opener against the Toronto Arenas. Cy Denneny scored three goals in the first 5:15 of the game, leading the Senators to a 5-2 win and a 2-0-0 start to their season.

Ottawa ended the month with a road game in Toronto on New Year's Eve, as the Arenas sent Ottawa to their first loss of the season by a score of 4-2.

The Senators finished December with a 2-1-0 record, earning four points. Ottawa was tied with the Canadiens for first place in the NHL.

The Senators began the new year with a home-and-home series against the Montreal Canadiens. Ottawa won the first game on home ice by a 7-2 score on January 2; however, the Canadiens won in their home game 5-2 two nights later.

Ottawa returned home for a game against the Toronto Arenas on January 9, and the Sens returned to the win column with a 4-2 victory, as Cy Denneny led the club with three goals. Following the win over the Arenas, the Senators lost their next three games, including two to the Canadiens, which dropped them out of contention for finishing first in the standings in the first half of the season. The Senators record fell to 4-5-0 with only one game remaining in the first half schedule.

Ottawa closed out the first half of the season with a 3-2 win over Toronto on January 23, ending their three game losing streak. The Senators closed out the first half of the season with a 5-5-0 record, earning 10 points and second place in the NHL standings, four points behind the first place Canadiens.

Two nights later, the Senators opened the second half of the season with a road game in Montreal. Goaltender Clint Benedict stopped all the shots he faced, while Jack Darragh scored the lone goal of the game, giving the Senators a 1-0 victory.

The Senators concluded the month with back-to-back overtime victories over both Toronto and Montreal. At the end of January, the Senators had a perfect 3-0-0 record to start the second half of the season, earning six points and sitting in first place in the NHL standings.

The Senators extended their winning streak to four games, as they opened February with a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Arenas, as Frank Nighbor scored twice for Ottawa.

On February 8, the Sens lost for the first time in the second half of the season, as the Montreal Canadiens held off the Senators for a 4-3 decision. Five nights later, Ottawa shutout the Canadiens by a 7-0 score to split the home-and-home series.

The Senators closed out the season with a home-and-home series against Toronto. On February 18, the Senators defeated Toronto 4-3 on the road, as Punch Broadbent scored the overtime winner. Two nights later, the Sens pummelled the Arenas on home ice, defeating Toronto 9-3, as Cy Denneny led the club with three goals in the game.

Ottawa finished the second half of the season with a 7-1-0 record, earning 14 points and finishing in first place. The club would qualify for the playoffs, as they would face the Montreal Canadiens for the NHL championship.

[3] Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Ottawa would face the Montreal Canadiens, winners of the first half of the NHL season, in a best-of-seven series, deciding who would represent the NHL at the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals.

The series opened on the road in Montreal on February 22 at the Jubilee Arena. The Canadiens took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Didier Pitre 2:25 into the game. The Senators stormed back with a goal by Cy Denneny at the 3:35 mark of the first period, the first ever playoff goal by the Senators since joining the NHL, to tie the game. Harry Cameron then gave Ottawa a 2-1 lead 90 seconds later, as that would be the score after the first period. The Canadiens scored three consecutive goals to begin the second period, taking a 4-2 lead, however, Jack Darragh scored with only seven seconds left in the period, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Newsy Lalonde opened the scoring for Montreal in the third period, his second goal of the game, giving the Canadiens a 5-3 lead, however, Darragh scored his second goal midway through the period, cutting the Canadiens lead to 5-4. This would be as close as Ottawa could get, as Montreal scored three goals in a 40 second span later in the period, leading them to a victory of 8-4 and a 1-0 series lead.

The series shifted to Ottawa for game two on February 27. After a scoreless first period, the Senators struck first as Harry Cameron scored his second goal of the series 4:00 into the second period, giving Ottawa a 1-0 lead. The Canadiens Joe Malone then scored two goals in a five minute span, as Montreal took a 2-1 lead. Georges Boucher scored with 1:00 remaining in the period for the Senators, tying the game at 2-2 after two periods. In the third period, the Canadiens Odie Cleghorn scored three consecutive goals in the first ten minutes, giving Montreal a 5-2 lead. Cy Denneny scored late in the period, making the final score 5-3 for Montreal as the Canadiens took a 2-0 series lead.

The third game was played in Montreal on March 1. The Canadiens Newsy Lalonde scored twice in the first period, giving the team a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play. Lalonde scored his third goal of the game to open the second period, followed by a goal by Didier Pitre, extending the Canadiens lead to 4-0. Punch Broadbent finally got Ottawa on the board with a goal 45 seconds later, followed by a second Ottawa goal by Eddie Gerard 4:30 later, as Ottawa cut the Canadiens lead to 4-2. Lalonde then scored his fourth goal of the game late in the second period, as Montreal took a 5-2 lead after two periods. In the third period, Broadbent scored for the Senators, however, Lalonde would score his fifth goal of the game late in the period, giving Montreal a 6-3 win and a 3-0 series lead.

The Senators were in a must-win situation for the fourth game played in Ottawa on March 3. The Senators opened the scoring on a goal by Eddie Gerard 9:00 into the first period, however, the Canadiens struck twice before the end of the period, taking 2-1 lead after the first. Ottawa's Cy Denneny tied the game 7:00 into the second period, followed by goals by Harry Cameron and Sprague Cleghorn, as the Senators took a 4-2 lead. The Canadiens struck back with a late second period goal by Newsy Lalonde, his second goal of the game and tenth of the series, as Ottawa held on to a slim 4-3 lead after the second period. In the third period, the Senators saw goals scored by Eddie Gerard and Georges Boucher, as Clint Benedict shutdown the Canadiens offense, as Ottawa won the game 6-3 and cut the Canadiens series lead to 3-1.

The fifth game of the series was another must-win for Ottawa, as it was played in Montreal on March 6. The Canadiens Newsy Lalonde scored his series leading eleventh goal in the first period, giving Montreal a 1-0 lead after the first period. Ottawa's Harry Cameron tied the game with a goal 2:10 into the second period, however, the Canadiens regained the lead midway through the period of a goal by Joe Malone, making it 2-1 Montreal after two periods. In the third period, the Canadiens Bert Corbeau scored 1:40 into the period, extending Montreal's lead to 3-1. Ottawa's Sprague Cleghorn cut the Canadiens lead to 3-2 with a goal at the 5:10 mark of the period, however, the Senators would not be able to come back, as Montreal's Odie Cleghorn scored midway through the period, and goaltender Georges Vezina shut the door on the Senators, as Montreal won the game 4-2 and took the series 4 games to 1.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Ottawa Senators 1