With a win on Tuesday night or a Detroit Red Wings loss, the Ottawa Senators can reach the postseason for the first time in eight years.

Although Eugene Melnyk's 112-page master plan has never seen the light of day, its once-proclaimed five years of unparalleled success had turned into eight years of an unparalleled impasse.

It was the worst stretch of competitiveness in the franchise's 32-season history. The risk of a full-scale rebuild is that if management cannot surround and insulate the high-end talent it acquires at the top of the NHL drafts with quality talent, the prime years of its best talents can be wasted. Or worse, systemic losing will erode the group's confidence and become part of an organization's culture.

November has been a month of mourning. Entering 2024-25, the Senators had a combined 15-31-2 November record across its previous four seasons. So, when the team limped to another underwhelming 5-8-1 mark this season, the vultures circled.

The outside hockey media began speculating on the impacts losing would have on Brady Tkachuk's future.

Following the team's afternoon game against Columbus, goaltender Linus Ullmark indirectly referenced those unfounded reports.

"I really think it's just the media overall that's been doing their job and not doing their job when it comes to following this team," the Swedish goaltender said while denouncing some reporters. "Writing things and saying things that I feel haven't been fully the truth."

One of the more impressive parts of this 2024-25 group is how the players' disposition never seemed to change.

Sure, there were moments. Following the team's 4-3 loss to Vancouver on November 23, you could hear a pin drop in the dressing room with the players realizing the magnitude of their fifth consecutive loss.

The positive vibes returned to the dressing room after the team's next practice.

Granted, when a team drops games, what else should the players say besides, "We believe we are playing well and eventually, things will get better"?

The players understood the circumstances and that, given their strong underlying metrics, their luck and success should eventually improve.

Their optimism felt genuine and was rooted in a belief in head coach Travis Green's system.

"We just trusted in the process throughout the whole year," explained Tim Stützle. "We knew there were going to be hard stretches throughout 82 games. Our veteran experience in this room helped us a lot with that.

"Obviously, when you win, it's fun to enjoy it for a bit, but then you got to get back right at it. Everything is so tight. We try to go day by day and get better every day. If you have a bad game, respond in the next one."

Drake Batherson echoed the skilled centre's comments on the buy-in to the process.

"Obviously, in certain situations throughout the year, we were going to be frustrated with losing some games," Batherson explained. "But, we had to stay as positive as we could to get to the point we're at now later in the year.

"(Our improvement) comes from a lot of different areas. Obviously, with a whole new staff and a lot of new players, goaltending has been great, so there are a lot of areas we've improved on. I would say a lot in the defensive zone, but there was more buy-in overall."

Travis Green attributed the growth and ability to the players' hunger to win.

"From day one, they're open, open-minded, and open to wanting to win badly," the head coach described. "They're open to coaching, and it's the whole team, really. That's not always the case.

"November was a big part of our season. Getting through a rough stretch, it's one thing to say you're open to coaching. It's another thing to do it."

That five-game losing streak in November had the opportunity to sink the Senators' season, but they did not allow it.

"Looking back now, that stretch was important in getting through it and winning some games," Green said while expanding on their resiliency and ability to bounce back, which have helped the team.

Winning nine games in December, when the team spent most of the month on the road as Ottawa hosted the World Junior Championships, was also pivotal.

Green credited the players for their willingness to back up their words with action.

"It is just the individual conversations you have with your players," he clarified. "Being able to have an honest conversation and players be open to hearing things they do not necessarily want to hear. But, there are certain parts of every player's game where they must be a little better. (Then they have to) agree with it, and then try to do it."

That willingness to improve and not panic when the results did not reflect the efficiency of the process spoke to the group's growth and maturity.

"All the guys grew up a little bit," Shane Pinto acknowledged. "Maturation-wise, it takes a little bit in this league to be successful. There's so many, you know, good teams.

"We've obviously been through our struggles, and that's prepared us for now. We finally grew up and learned how to play consistently and how to play winning hockey. We didn't have it some nights, but we found a way to win games. That shows our maturing process."

It also helped to have a close-knit group that enjoyed playing together.

"It's because we all enjoy playing hockey so much," Stützle admitted, flashing a smile. "We love it so much, and obviously it's hard. There's a lot of pressure on us. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves, and obviously, we want to be the best we can.

"In the end, you still have to enjoy it. You still have to have fun. That's the biggest key. If we all have fun together, grinding and playing the right way, there's nothing better. Yeah, you can't win them all. That's what we thought right from the start. Right now, it's just about to keep chipping away and playing the right way. At the start of the year, we played a lot of games. We played really well but didn't get the result we wanted. We stuck with it and kept playing the way we wanted to."

Now, the wait is over.

The Senators are on the verge of clinching their first playoff spot in the Michael Andlauer ownership era - signalling a time when the on-ice success is beginning to match the growth and success the organization is enjoying off the ice.

It is a welcomed time for the long-suffering staff and the organization's fans who endured a dark period of hockey.

Through his post-game comments, Linus Ullmark was thrilled for Brady Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot, who he believes were often the victims of shoddy journalism.

"I'm happy now that the guys now that have been there for a long time," Ullmark remarked. "Like (Thomas Chabot) and (Brady Tkachuk), for example, to have been there the longest, and now have an opportunity to play really meaningful games and get into a position where you can battle for the cup."

The list of players does not end there.

"Even (Claude Giroux)," added Sanderson. "He is a guy you want to see raise the Stanley Cup one day. I think just for everybody, you want to see everyone in those situations. It is exciting."

"For the guys that have been here longer than I have, I know they're they're pretty fired up too. We're on the verge, but we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves."

While the Senators' most valuable defenceman was trying to hide his excitement, Shane Pinto was less reserved with his enthusiasm.

"I get the goosebumps thinking about it," the young centre stated. "This is what we work for in the summer. It's a long year, obviously, but this is what it's all about, to play these games at this time of year.

"Obviously, we have a job to do these next few games, but hopefully, all goes well, and we could play some playoff hockey. We're so fired up."

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