Senators Fans Ready for Playoff Hockey After 'Roller-Coaster of a Season'
If you had told Ottawa Senators fans in January that they were watching what would soon become a playoff team, many probably wouldn't have believed you. At the time, the Senators were making themselves rather comfortable in the basement of the Atlantic Division as injuries and absences plagued every part of the lineup. But then something started to click, and now, fast forward three months, playoff fever is spreading with fervour through the nation's capital as fans are gearing up for playoffs for the second season in a row.
A Season of Ups and Downs
"It's been a roller-coaster of a season," said Senators fan John Gauthier ahead of the club's last regular-season game against Toronto. "We always keep our fingers crossed and think that maybe we can do it, but I didn't really think we had a chance until these last two or three weeks," added John's son, Joey Gauthier. The grit, passion, and no-quit attitude the Senators have displayed in the latter half of the season, combined with last year's postseason experience, has left the fan base even more confident.
"Now they know what they can and can't get away with in the playoffs, and I think they're going to be built way better this time around," Joey Gauthier said. "I feel like last year they got a little taste of it, and this year we're going to get a bigger and longer taste." Erik Hobbins, who showed up to a recent game dressed in a shiny gold suit on top of his Senators jersey, echoed this sentiment: "Just that whole atmosphere and not having made the playoffs in a long time, a little taste of it made us raving lunatics."
Facing a Tough Opponent
The Senators will be in tough as they're up against the Eastern Conference-topping Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. The Hurricanes have now made the playoffs in eight straight seasons and haven't lost in the first round since the 1998-99 season. It's the first time in franchise history that these two teams have met in the postseason. Despite coming in as the underdogs, Senators fans are no strangers to seeing their team defy the odds.
Fan Optimism and Excitement
For Joan Wiggins, this isn't her first rodeo with Senators playoff hockey after being a season-ticket holder for 20 years. But, dressed head-to-toe in Senators gear, including pants that she made herself out of an old Sens fleece blanket, she said this postseason feels a little extra special. "It's more exciting because we're back here again, for the second straight season," Wiggins said. "We're winning in six, and we're going all the way."
It seems many fans share that same optimism that this year's post-season stretch might last longer than it did last year, when the Senators lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. "Bring on the competition," John Gauthier said. "It doesn't matter who it is, as long as we're there and we have a chance, let's play." The series is expected to kick off in Raleigh on Saturday and Monday, before returning to Ottawa for games 3 and 4 on April 23 and 25.
