What Went Wrong: Little Brother Complex

A wild Thursday saw four Game Sixes played. Four teams looking to advance, while four others looked to stay alive. The first of the four Game Sixes took place in Ottawa, though it really shouldn't have. The Battle of Ontario series, the first since 2004, was done and buried. The Toronto Maple Leafs had won the first three games. It was over. Then the Senators won Game Four in OT. OK. It was in Ottawa, they had to give the home fans something, and they got it. Game Five was back in Toronto. It would be finished off there, right?

Nope.

Linus Ullmark was a brick wall in Game Five. 4-0 win for the Sens. Now it was getting serious. Some Leafs fans feared the worst, because, sadly, the worst is all they seem to know. Game Six would be the test. Back in Ottawa. Sens had a chance to really shock the world. Force Game Seven after being down 3-0. We saw the Oilers do it in last year's Stanley Cup Final. Could the Sens pull it off. They tried, but in the end, the one golden rule remains intact: Ontario belongs to the Leafs.

This was a big year for the Ottawa Senators. Ever since they made that deal with the Colorado Avalanche and the Nashville Predators, it had been a nightmare for them. As the two other teams thrived, the Senators suffered, big time. The promise was there in recent years, but it would finally result in good things for the Sens this year. A playoff appearance for the first time since 2017. The only thing that went wrong: it was the Battle of Ontario. The Sens can't beat the Leafs. It's now five meetings in the postseason, and the Senators are still not off the schnide against their big Original Six brother.

For many players on the Sens, this was their first time getting a taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. One player who had to feel good was Brady Tkachuk, who had to watch his big brother Matthew Tkachuk hoist the Stanley Cup last year. The younger Tkachuk sibling made the most of his playoff debut, tuning out the "Brady Sucks" chants and racking up seven points (4G/3A) in six games. Tim Stutzle, who was drafted third overall by the Sens in the 2020 Draft, had five points (2G/3A), while Claude Giroux (who is not a playoff novice, had the same total (G/4A). David Perron, one of the very few Sens who actually touched the Stanley Cup in his career, had three points (2G/A).

The Ottawa Senators have a lot to be proud of. They ended an eight year playoff drought and really made the most of their appearance. They were down and out after the first three games, but they did make it interesting with their wins in Games Four and FIve of the series, and they really hung with the Leafs in Game Six. Can they keep it up, though? That's the question. I would like to think that we'll see the Senators in the playoffs again next year. After all, they were in the Atlantic Division's Top 3 for a bit before finally falling to the 1st Wild Card position, where they would stay. Maybe if they get the right people during the offseason, they can maintain the magic they had this year and become a perennial playoff team.

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