Leafs win Game 6 and series 4-2

After falling behind 2-0, there was a brief moment of hope in the third period where David Perron tied it up and the crowd was electric. It felt like it could've been a turning point. Instead, Max Pacioretty broke ~17,000 of the 19,007 hearts in attendance with a go-ahead goal, and the comeback ended a couple goals short. This Sens season ended, but I think it's clear that this era of this team is just getting started.

The first period was fast-paced. The whistles were few and far between. Much like the last game, the Leafs had a bit more of the offensive pressure in the first period. The Sens got the first powerplay of the game, when John Tavares hit Claude Giroux in the face with his stick for being as effective at an older age, but Ottawa got nothing going on the powerplay. Matthew Knies almost got a shorthanded chance, but David Perron skated like it was 2012 to break it up. The Leafs had a great chance to take the lead just after, but Linus Ullmark made the initial save, then the puck hit the post, and then enough sticks got in the way behind Ullmark to force the puck wide. Thomas Stützle also had a couple great chances but he couldn't quite handle the puck when he got in tight. Late in the period, Brady Tkachuk got a little overzealous in the refs' opinion on Brandon Carlo and Toronto went to a powerplay of their own. That ended up being too much, and Auston Matthews somehow put the puck through on the ice softly, but Ullmark didn't see it until too late through traffic and it snuck inside the right post. The Sens mostly played the first they wanted, but found themselves down 1-0, and down 7-3 in shots.

The second opened similarly disappointingly. A lofted puck was misplayed by Nick Jensen and Thomas Chabot. Jensen didn't take the body on William Nylander, and Chabot covered the pass even though Nylander was the only Leaf in the zone, so Nylander got to walk in and fire it exactly where he wanted. Toronto had a golden opportunity to make it 3-0, but Ullmark got across to take away the chance from Max Pacioretty. Timmy continued to get his chances, this time getting good shots away, but Anthony Stolarz was just good enough. But the Sens kept pouring on the pressure, and some good forechecking allowed Chabot to get a point shot through that Tkachuk deftly tipped in.

That reignited the crowd, and the Sens got a few more good chances, even getting Stolarz to snow-angel, but they weren't putting anything in the net. Toronto also got a great chance later in the period, but Ullmark made the initial save, and then Tavares' sharp-angle backhand hit the post then bounced between Ullmark's legs so he could cover. The Leafs had a couple more good shots but Ullmark was finding his groove and not letting anything in. The Sens survived a series of last-minute defensive zone draws, setting up a tense third period.

The third period started almost perfectly, with Tim Stützle tipping the puck past Stolarz but off the crossbar. Sens had their own tense moment when Ullmark came out to play the puck in the slot but didn't get it to Nikolas Matinpalo, but the Leafs put it off the side of the net with the goalie out on adventure and the Sens survived unscathed. Fabian Zetterlund drew a penalty from Morgan Rielly by driving the net, and Rielly shoved Z into the net which went off its moorings. The Sens' PP was atrocious, but then David Perron went full "I've been there" and after the penalty expired, he snuck in and put it in off Stolarz's shoulder from below the goal line. It was pandemonium in the arena in a 2-2 game.

My favourite part of that goal was the split-second that Perron celebrates alone before anyone else realizes it's in the net. The tie was unfortunately short-lived, as just after the return from commercial break, Ullmark made a shaky save on a Max Domi shot on a 2-on-1, and then on the ensuing cycle, Pacioretty got open and fired it home. Patches may not have the legs anymore, but apparently he still has the hands. Just after Scott Laughton got alone in front, but, once again, the posts came up big to keep the puck out. Ottawa started to pour on the pressure, getting the goalie out with two minutes left, but they couldn't ever get the great shot. William Nylander put it wide of the empty net from his knees, and then after that icing, he got the breakout with the puck, Sanderson hauled him down, but he stayed with the puck and put it into the empty net. Ottawa got a ridiculous flurry of chances in the final 18 seconds to inflate Stolarz's save percentage, but the game was decided. 4-2 final, in the game and the series. And that handshake line was fun to see, seeing the respect these two teams have for each other when they're not in a battle. I think I speak for most of us when I say, may the Panthers now crush this team.

Thoughts:

• We'll have lots of reminiscing on the Sens season in the days and weeks to follow, but tonight, here are my thoughts on the season that was. (Nobody wants to read about the game that was, since the idea of improvement for next year seems ridiculous.)
• The young core showed their strengths. Having Tkachuk, Stützle, and Sanderson locked up long term is huge for this team. They all showed their mettle this series, and will be hungry to come back.
• Key unrestricted free agents: Claude Giroux, Nick Cousins, Adam Gaudette, Anton Forsberg. I'd love to see Giroux back for a couple years, and another one year of Gaudette. Cousins is a toss-up, and I think I'm confident saying Forsberg's days as Ottawa's backup are over. He's still the best waiver claim the Sens have ever made.
• Key restricted free agents: Fabian Zetterlund, Tyler Kleven, Nikolas Matinpalo. I think all three of these guys are back next year, and none of them have priced themselves outside the Sens' range yet. Kleven in particular showed up in the playoffs, and I'm excited to see the growth in those young defencemen next year. I'm also excited to see what Zetterlund can do when he's actually used to this team's systems. Both he and Cozens were acquired with an eye towards their growth into next season and beyond.
• I loved hearing that crowd. Anyone who says Ottawa isn't a hockey town has been proven wrong. We're all hungry for meaningful games in Ottawa again.
• Thank you to all of you, our faithful readers. You stuck with us through a bunch of very disappointing seasons, and kept us going when SB Nation dropped most of its hockey coverage. We couldn't do this without readers. Thanks for all your comments: the gifs, the pump-ups, the disagreements with our analysis, the shared celebration and grief. Go Sens Go!

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