The modern-day Senators have never been as close to a Stanley Cup as they were 19 years ago today.
The city of Ottawa is no stranger to Stanley Cup wins.
The original Senators won the Cup on 11 occasions, but unfortunately, everyone who witnessed those Cup and their ensuing parades is now gone. Next season will be the 100th anniversary of Ottawa's last Cup win.
Montreal counts all the Cups they won in that era because they never went away. Ottawa's 11 Cup wins are rarely talked about because when the depression hit, we had to dip out for a quick 58-year absence from the league.
While the original Senators were a dynasty, the modern-day Sens haven't been nearly as successful. But they have had their great moments all the same.
They've been to three conference finals in their history, but advanced only once. That year was 2007, and as long as we're dabbling in nostalgia, today marks the 19th anniversary of the only game they've ever won in a modern-day Stanley Cup Final.
Put another way, while the ancient Sens were running out of ways to celebrate championships, June 2, 2007, was the closest the new era has ever been to winning it all.
We won't spend a lot of time on a game recap. You probably vaguely recall what happened. Scotiabank Place, going crazy. The Pizza Line. Ray Emery. Lyndon Slewidge in his prime. A Senators team that needed just five games to win each of their three series to that point. And that crazy long nine-day layoff after the Conference Final.
The Senators were down 2-0 after losing the first two games in Anaheim and returned home to host the first Cup Final game in Ontario in 40 years. If you take that as a gratuitous jab at the Leafs, then that's entirely your business.
In fairness, it had been 80 years since Ottawa had hosted a Cup Final game.
The Senators won the game 5-3, and the winning goal was scored late in the second period by Dean McAmmond. With the score tied at 3, McAmmond banked a shot in off Chris Pronger, probably Anaheim's best and certainly the most intimidating player.
If only something had happened that would have taken Pronger completely out of that series... Oh, wait, it did.
Early in the third period, McAmmond skated up the middle and took a shot from distance, and in a clear targeting of the head, Pronger stepped up and smashed his elbow and forearm into his head. McAmmond was immediately knocked out and slid along the ice for 30 feet before finally coming to a rest in the corner of the ice near the boards.
Today, Pronger would not only be ejected and out of the series, but he'd likely be missing games the next season as well. In 2007, he not only stayed in the game but there was no penalty. The league did suspend him later, but only for one game.
At least he learned his lesson. The following season, Pronger got an eight-game suspension for stomping on the leg of Vancouver forward Ryan Kesler.
Anaheim would go on to win the next two games and the Stanley Cup.
While the Pronger hit did take a little of the shine off the Game 3 Cup Final victory, that entire run was such an exciting time.
No, the Stanley Cup never came to Ottawa, not in the modern era. Not yet.
But on June 2, 2007, for a few hours, it sure felt like it might.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
