2014–15 Ottawa Senators season

The 2014–15 Ottawa Senators season was the 23rd season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] After an eventful regular season, the team returned to the NHL playoffs after not qualifying in the 2013–14 NHL season. Since 1996, the team has not missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

2014–15 Ottawa Senators
Division4th Atlantic
Conference7th Eastern
2014–15 record43–26–13
Home record23–13–5
Road record20–13–8
Goals for238
Goals against215
Team information
General managerBryan Murray
CoachPaul MacLean
Dave Cameron
CaptainErik Karlsson
Alternate captainsChris Neil
Chris Phillips
ArenaCanadian Tire Centre
Average attendance18,246 (95.3%)
Minor league affiliate(s)Binghamton Senators (AHL)
Wichita Thunder (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsMike Hoffman (27)
AssistsErik Karlsson (45)
PointsErik Karlsson (66)
Penalty minutesMark Borowiecki (105)
Plus/minusMarc Methot (+22)
WinsAndrew Hammond (20)
Goals against averageAndrew Hammond (1.86)

With the team at .500 in early December, general manager Bryan Murray fired head coach Paul MacLean, replacing him with assistant coach Dave Cameron. After being 14 points out of a playoff spot at the start of February, the Senators rallied behind the outstanding play of call-up goaltender Andrew Hammond down the stretch and qualified for the playoffs in the last game of the regular season. For his play, Hammond, nicknamed the "Hamburglar", gained league-wide attention, being named as an NHL Star of the Month and Week. Two rookies had outstanding seasons. Mark Stone who was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy, tied for the lead in points among rookies and Mike Hoffman led all rookies in goal scoring. First-year captain Erik Karlsson led the team in scoring with 66 points and won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's top defenceman.

In the playoffs, the Senators played the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. It was a rematch of the 2013 series which the Senators won. The Senators fell behind 3–0 in the series before rallying back with two wins. However, the comeback fell short and the Senators were eliminated in six games. Hammond started the series but was replaced in the third game by the Senators' number one goalie Craig Anderson, who was outstanding in his return to play.

Before the season, it was learned that Murray had cancer, for which he underwent treatment weekly during the season, although he continued in his duties as general manager. In March 2015, it was learned that assistant coach Mark Reeds also had cancer. Reeds died on the eve of the playoffs, and the team dedicated their play to Reeds. Owner Eugene Melnyk was too ill to attend the playoffs and received a liver transplant in May 2015 after a public appeal for donors.

Off-season

On May 11, 2014, it was reported that the Senators were looking to trade captain Jason Spezza, who has one year remaining on his current contract, prior to the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.[2] Spezza was traded on July 1 to the Dallas Stars, along with Ludwig Karlsson for Alex Chiasson, Alex Guptill, Nick Paul and a 2015 draft second-round pick. Milan Michalek re-signed with the Senators on the same day, for a three-year extension. On July 4, free agent David Legwand signed with the Senators on a two-year deal. On July 7, the team issued a statement that general manager Bryan Murray had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer and will undergo treatment immediately. Assistant general managers Pierre Dorion and Randy Lee will manage hockey operations when Murray is undergoing treatment.[3]

On August 18, 2014, TSN and the Ottawa Senators announced that the team's regional games will be broadcast on a new channel launching on August 25, 2014. The new channel is called TSN5. The channel will broadcast 53 games in the regular season plus preseason games.[4]

On August 19, 2014, the Ottawa Senators announced that the team had surpassed over $100 million in community contributions in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. The total includes over $59 million in community projects, over $25 million in contributions to charities and minor hockey programs, and more than $21 million in community programs and in-kind donations.[5]

On September 9, 2014, the Ottawa Senators announced a couple of affiliation agreements. The club announced they've extended their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliation with the Binghamton Senators through the 2018–19 season.[6] The Senators also announced a new ECHL affiliation with the Evansville IceMen through the 2015-16 season.[7]

After some speculation about right winger Bobby Ryan's status entering the final year of his contract, on October 2, 2014, the team re-signed Ryan to a seven-year $50.25 million contract extension. At the same press conference announcing Ryan's signing, it was announced that Erik Karlsson was named team captain, the ninth in the current Senators history.

Regular season

The team began their season October 9 with a three-game road trip beginning in Nashville taking on the Predators. Their home opener took place one week later on October 16 when they hosted the Colorado Avalanche at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators finished the home portion of their schedule on April 7, 2015 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Their final regular season game took place in Philadelphia when they defeated the Flyers on April 11.[8]

Former long-time Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson signed a one-game contract with Ottawa so he could announce his retirement as a member of the Senators. He was honoured prior to the match on December 4, 2014, where he participated in the pre-game warmup wearing an Ottawa jersey with the captain's insignia, which current captain Erik Karlsson relinquished for the occasion.[9] Alfredsson would in March, receive the "key to the city" of Ottawa from Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.

Head coach Paul MacLean was fired 27 games into the season.[10] It was 109 games after MacLean won the Jack Adams trophy as NHL Coach of the Year. General Manager Bryan Murray elevated assistant coach Dave Cameron to head coach. According to Murray, there was discord among the players. The team was at .500, and Murray expressed the hope that the team had enough games to make run to the playoffs.

In February, both of the Senators' goalies were injured. Craig Anderson injured his hand in practice and Robin Lehner was concussed in a collision with Clarke MacArthur who also received a concussion. Binghamton starting goalie Andrew "Hamburglar" Hammond was elevated to Ottawa. He won his first five starts (his first starts ever in the NHL) and was named NHL First Star for the week of February 23 – March 1. The Senators won three straight games in California, the first time the franchise had done so. The corresponding win streak elevated the Senators into playoff contention for the final wild-card spot. In March, Anderson returned to the lineup and started two games. After losing to Boston, the team the Senators were chasing, coach Cameron returned to starting Hammond, who continued his streak of holding the opposition to two or fewer goals, and the team being undefeated in regulation time with him starting. Hammond became only the third NHL goalie since 1938 to hold the opposition to two or fewer goals for his first twelve career starts. The team continued its run with Hammond and qualified for the playoffs in the final game of the season. The team had been 14 points out of a playoff spot and was the first team in NHL history to overcome that large of a deficit to qualify for the playoffs.[11][12] They also became the first team not to get shutout in a full regular season since the Buffalo Sabres during the 2006-07 season.

Playoffs

The Senators qualified for the playoffs after missing them in 2014. It is the fifteenth time in the modern franchise's 23-year history they've gone to the post-season. The Senators finished the regular season on a 23-4-4 run in their final 31 games in order to qualify for the postseason.

Prior to the season, several sports outlets predicted the club would miss the playoffs. According to The Hockey News yearbook, the club's Stanley Cup odds were 95-1, and the club would finish in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. The official NHL 2015 Yearbook predicted the Senators would finish in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. Gambling site Bodog set the expected over/under for points at 78.5. That is 14.5 less points than the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference the prior season.[13]

First round: Ottawa vs. Montreal

Montreal, which won the Atlantic Division title, had home ice advantage over the Senators, who took the first wild card position. This was a rematch of the 2013 playoff series between the teams won by the Senators. In the 2014–15 regular season series, the Senators won three games of four between the teams.

In game one in Montreal, the Senators started rookie goaltender Andrew Hammond for his first NHL career playoff start. An own goal by Andrei Markov was the only scoring of the first period, giving Ottawa a 1–0 lead after the period. Montreal scored four times in the second period to take a 4–3 lead. Montreal defender P. K. Subban was ejected from the game for a slashing attempt to injure on Mark Stone, who left the game but returned to play though injured. The third period was scoreless and Montreal took a 1–0 series lead. The next day, the Senators announced Stone suffered a microfracture in his wrist due to the slash. In game two, the Senators again took the lead with a goal in the first period by Clarke MacArthur. In the second period, the Canadiens took the lead on goals by Max Pacioretty and Subban. In the third, the Senators forced it to overtime with a power play goal by Patrick Wiercioch. In overtime, Alex Galchenyuk scored to win the game for the Canadiens.

The series moved to Ottawa for game three, and Ottawa switched goaltenders, substituting Craig Anderson for Hammond, and inserted Chris Neil into the lineup. For the third time in the series, the Senators scored first, in the first period, on a goal by MacArthur. The second period was scoreless. In the third period, Dale Weise scored to tie the game and send it to overtime. In the overtime, Weise scored again to put the Canadiens up in the series 3–0. In game four, the game was scoreless until halfway through the third period when Mike Hoffman scored the only goal of the game and the Senators staved off elimination. Anderson stopped 28 Canadiens shots to record his third career playoff shutout. It was the Senators' first playoff shutout of the Canadiens and the first playoff shutout of Montreal by Ottawa since the first Senators shut out the Canadiens in April 1927 en route to a Stanley Cup title.

The Senators faced elimination again in game five in Montreal. Again, Ottawa took the lead in the first, this time with two goals by Bobby Ryan and Patrick Wiercioch. The Senators increased their lead in the second period with a power play goal by Erik Karlsson to lead by 3–0 after two. In the third, Tom Gilbert scored to narrow the gap to 3–1. Erik Condra made a critical takeaway and scored on a breakaway. After some roughing between Anderson and Brandon Prust led to a Senators power play, Mike Hoffman scored in the final minute to make it a 5–1 romp. In the game, Montreal out shot Ottawa 46–25 but was repeatedly stymied by Anderson.

In game six, Montreal scored first for the first time in the series, on a first period fluke goal by Brendan Gallagher and made it stand up to the end, adding an empty net goal with one second left to win the game 2–0 and take the series. It was the first and only time this season that Ottawa was shut out. A second-period goal by Jean-Gabriel Pageau was called off by the referee who ruled he had lost sight of the puck. The Senators outshot the Canadiens 43–19 but were stymied by Canadiens' goaltender Carey Price.

Standings

Atlantic Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 y Montreal Canadiens 82 50 22 10 43 221 189 +32 110
2 x Tampa Bay Lightning 82 50 24 8 47 262 211 +51 108
3 x Detroit Red Wings 82 43 25 14 39 235 221 +14 100
4 x Ottawa Senators 82 43 26 13 37 238 215 +23 99
5 Boston Bruins 82 41 27 14 37 213 211 +2 96
6 Florida Panthers 82 38 29 15 30 206 223 17 91
7 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 30 44 8 25 211 262 51 68
8 Buffalo Sabres 82 23 51 8 15 161 274 113 54
Source: National Hockey League
x Clinched playoff spot; y Clinched division.
Eastern Conference Wild Card
Pos Div Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 AT x Ottawa Senators 82 43 26 13 37 238 215 +23 99
2 ME x Pittsburgh Penguins 82 43 27 12 39 221 210 +11 98
3 AT Boston Bruins 82 41 27 14 37 213 211 +2 96
4 AT Florida Panthers 82 38 29 15 30 206 223 17 91
5 ME Columbus Blue Jackets 82 42 35 5 33 236 250 14 89
6 ME Philadelphia Flyers 82 33 31 18 30 215 234 19 84
7 ME New Jersey Devils 82 32 36 14 27 181 216 35 78
8 ME Carolina Hurricanes 82 30 41 11 25 188 226 38 71
9 AT Toronto Maple Leafs 82 30 44 8 25 211 262 51 68
10 AT Buffalo Sabres 82 23 51 8 15 161 274 113 54
Source: National Hockey League
x Clinched playoff spot.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

2014–15 Game Log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2015 Stanley Cup playoffs

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Final Stats[14]

Scoring
Goaltenders
Regular Season
Player GPGSTOI WLOT GAGAA SASV% SOGA PIM
Andrew Hammond 242314112012421.79707.9413010
Craig Anderson 3535209314138872.491134.9233004
Robin Lehner 252414719123743.02779.9050010
Chris Driedger 102300000.00101.0000000
Playoffs
Player GPGSTOI WL GAGAA SASV% SOGA PIM
Craig Anderson 442472240.97142.9721000
Andrew Hammond 221220273.4481.9140000

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Senators. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.
No longer with team.
Bold/italics denotes team leader in that category.

Final roster

Updated April 14, 2015[15][16][17]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
41 Craig Anderson G L 33 2011 Park Ridge, Illinois
74 Mark Borowiecki D L 25 2008 Kanata, Ontario
5 Cody Ceci D R 21 2012 Ottawa, Ontario
90 Alex Chiasson RW R 24 2014 Montreal, Quebec
22 Erik Condra RW R 28 2006 Trenton, Michigan
2 Jared Cowen D L 24 2009 Allan, Saskatchewan
14 Colin Greening LW L 29 2005 St. John's, Newfoundland
62 Eric Gryba D R 27 2006 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
30 Andrew Hammond G L 27 2013 White Rock, British Columbia
68 Mike Hoffman LW L 25 2009 Kitchener, Ontario
65 Erik Karlsson (C) D R 24 2008 Landsbro, Sweden
27 Curtis Lazar C R 20 2013 Salmon Arm, British Columbia
17 David Legwand C L 34 2014 Detroit, Michigan
40 Robin Lehner G L 23 2009 Gothenburg, Sweden
16 Clarke MacArthur LW L 30 2013 Lloydminster, Alberta
3 Marc Methot D L 29 2012 Ottawa, Ontario
9 Milan Michalek LW L 30 2009 Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
25 Chris Neil (A) RW R 35 1998 Flesherton, Ontario
44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau C R 22 2011 Ottawa, Ontario
4 Chris Phillips (A) D L 37 1996 Calgary, Alberta
26 Matt Puempel LW L 22 2011 Windsor, Ontario
6 Bobby Ryan RW R 28 2013 Cherry Hill, New Jersey
15 Zack Smith C R 27 2008 Maple Creek, Saskatchewan
61 Mark Stone RW R 22 2010 Winnipeg, Manitoba
7 Kyle Turris C R 25 2011 New Westminster, British Columbia
46 Patrick Wiercioch D L 24 2008 Maple Ridge, British Columbia
93 Mika Zibanejad C R 22 2011 Huddinge, Sweden

Awards and honours

Awards

Regular Season
Player Award Awarded
Craig AndersonNHL Second Star of the Week[18]November 10, 2014
Bobby RyanNHL All-Star game selection[19]January 10, 2015
Mike HoffmanNHL All-Star game rookie selection[19]January 10, 2015
Erik KarlssonNHL Second Star of the Week[20]January 26, 2015
Andrew HammondNHL First Star of the Week[21]March 2, 2015
Andrew HammondNHL Third Star of the Week[22]March 16, 2015
Kyle TurrisNHL Second Star of the Week[23]March 23, 2015
Andrew HammondNHL First Star of the Month[24]April 1, 2015
Andrew HammondNHL First Star of the Week[25]April 6, 2015
Mark StoneNHL Third Star of the Week[26]April 13, 2015

NHL awards

TrophyPlayerStatus
Bill Masterton Memorial TrophyAndrew HammondFinalist
Calder Memorial TrophyMark StoneFinalist
James Norris Memorial TrophyErik KarlssonWinner

Milestones

Player Milestone Achievement Date
Curtis Lazar1st NHL gameOctober 9, 2014
Alex Chiasson1st game as a SenatorOctober 9, 2014
David Legwand1st game as a SenatorOctober 9, 2014
Alex Chiasson1st goal as a Senator
1st point as a Senator
October 9, 2014
Mark Borowiecki1st NHL assistOctober 9, 2014
Alex Chiasson1st assist as a SenatorOctober 11, 2014
Curtis Lazar1st NHL assist
1st NHL point
October 16, 2014
David Legwand1st goal as a Senator
1st point as a Senator
October 16, 2014
Eric Gryba100th NHL PIMOctober 16, 2014
Mike Hoffman1st NHL game-winning goalOctober 18, 2014
Bobby Ryan300th NHL PIMOctober 18, 2014
Zack Smith400th NHL PIMOctober 18, 2014
Curtis Lazar1st NHL PIMOctober 25, 2014
Eric Gryba100th NHL gameNovember 1, 2014
Patrick Wiercioch1st NHL game-winning goalNovember 4, 2014
Kyle Turris100th NHL assistNovember 11, 2014
Mark Borowiecki100th NHL PIMNovember 14, 2014
Mike Hoffman1st NHL overtime-winning goalNovember 14, 2014
Milan Michalek400th NHL pointNovember 15, 2014
Alex Chiasson100th NHL gameNovember 15, 2014
Zack Smith300th NHL gameNovember 20, 2014
Clarke MacArthur500th NHL gameNovember 20, 2014
David Legwand1000th NHL gameNovember 29, 2014
Mika Zibanejad1st career multi-goal game
1st career 4-point game
December 7, 2014
Curtis Lazar1st NHL goalDecember 15, 2014
Bobby Ryan1st Hat-Trick as a SenatorDecember 29, 2014
Marc Methot400th NHL gameJanuary 8, 2015
Craig Anderson400th NHL gameJanuary 17, 2015
Marc Methot1st career 3-point game
1st career 3-assist game
January 31, 2015
Jared Cowen200th NHL gameFebruary 3, 2015
Cody Ceci100th NHL gameFebruary 7, 2015
Erik Karlsson200th NHL assistFebruary 14, 2015
Shane Prince1st NHL game
1st NHL assist
1st NHL point
February 16, 2015
Andrew Hammond1st NHL start
1st NHL win
February 18, 2015
Bobby Ryan500th NHL gameFebruary 18, 2015
Matt Puempel1st NHL gameFebruary 21, 2015
Kyle Turris200th NHL pointFebruary 21, 2015
Andrew Hammond1st NHL shutoutFebruary 25, 2015
David Legwand600th NHL pointMarch 8, 2015
Matt Puempel1st NHL goal
1st NHL point
March 10, 2015
Milan Michalek200th NHL goalMarch 19, 2015
Andrew Hammond1st NHL assist
1st NHL point
March 21, 2015
Bobby Ryan200th NHL assistMarch 23, 2015
Chris Driedger1st NHL gameMarch 26, 2015
Erik Karlsson300th NHL pointApril 4, 2015
Mark Stone100th NHL gameApril 5, 2015
Mika Zibanejad100th NHL pointApril 7, 2015
Mika Zibanejad200th NHL gameApril 11, 2015
Andrew Hammond1st NHL playoff game
1st NHL playoff start
April 15, 2015
Mark Borowiecki1st NHL playoff gameApril 15, 2015
Cody Ceci1st NHL playoff gameApril 15, 2015
Mike Hoffman1st NHL playoff gameApril 15, 2015
Curtis Lazar1st NHL playoff gameApril 15, 2015
Patrick Wiercioch1st NHL playoff assist
1st NHL playoff point
April 15, 2015
Cody Ceci1st NHL playoff assist
1st NHL playoff point
April 17, 2015
Patrick Wiercioch1st NHL playoff goalApril 17, 2015
Mike Hoffman1st NHL playoff goal
1st NHL playoff point
April 22, 2015
Coach Milestone Achievement Date
Dave Cameron1st game as an NHL head coachDecember 11, 2014
Dave Cameron1st win as an NHL head coachDecember 13, 2014
Dave Cameron1st playoff game as an NHL head coachApril 15, 2015
Dave Cameron1st playoff win as an NHL head coachApril 22, 2015
Team Milestone Achievement Date
Ottawa Senators700th regulation lossOctober 9, 2014
Ottawa Senators5000th goal againstJanuary 17, 2015

Records

Player Record Achievement Date
Chris Phillips1,179th career games played for the Ottawa SenatorsFebruary 5, 2015
Mark StoneNine consecutive games of at least one point
(Franchise rookie record)
April 11, 2015

Transactions

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