2005–06 Ottawa Senators season

Off-season

Changes occurred to the Senators roster before the season. First, Ottawa acquired the playoff-experienced goaltender Dominik Hasek for his Stanley Cup experience. Second, a blockbuster trade on August 23, 2005, involved Marian Hossa and Greg de Vries being sent to the Atlanta Thrashers for Dany Heatley. The trade occurred on the day that Hossa had signed a new contract. The value of Hossa's contract was beyond what General Manager John Muckler felt that Hossa was worth and so he was dealt away. Marian had led the Senators in scoring.

Regular season

Dany Heatley, together with Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, formed one of the NHL's top offensive lines, dubbed the "CASH line" by fans in a contest held by the Ottawa Citizen. The name is made from the initials of Captain Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley. Cash Line won out over finalists 'Dash Line' and 'Dazzle Line,' which Spezza reputedly despised and wanted to veto. Another nickname the line picked up was the "Pizza Line", used by the Ottawa Sun, a rival to the Citizen. However, during the press conference to introduce the teams for the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, Heatley went on record to say he likes the "CASH line" name.

The Senators team sent nine players to the 2006 Winter Olympics as part of the NHL's commitment. Daniel Alfredsson, Zdeno Chara, Martin Havlat, Dany Heatley, Andrej Meszaros, Wade Redden, Christoph Schubert and Anton Volchenkov all played for their respective country's national teams, while Jason Spezza was named a substitute for Canada. The experience, however, was poor for the Senators: Dominik Hasek was having an impressive season prior to Olympic play, but the team lost him to a hamstring injury he suffered while playing for the Czech Republic. He would not play again for the Senators.

In addition to leading the NHL with most goals for (312, excluding shootout-winning goals), the Senators also led the NHL in shorthanded goals (25), scoring points (840) and shots on goal (2,811).

Highlights

The "CASH line" made a dramatic and historic debut, playing in the first game of the 2005–06 season on October 5, 2005, against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto. In the pre-season, right winger Brandon Bochenski had been playing on the line as he had played with Spezza in the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. But with five minutes to go, with the Senators trailing, then Senators' Head Coach Bryan Murray replaced Bochenski with Daniel Alfredsson, who scored a game-tying goal with 62 seconds left. Heatley and Alfredsson would then go on to score the first shootout goals in NHL history to win the game that night.

Other highlights of the Senators' season included an 8–0 road win over their Ontario rivals, the Maple Leafs, on October 29, 2005. Dany Heatley scored four consecutive goals in that game. Just four nights later, the Senators defeated the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, 10–4. Martin Havlat and Daniel Alfredsson each scored four goals and Jason Spezza provided four assists. It was the first time that an NHL team had scored ten goals in a regular-season game since January 11, 2003, when the Washington Capitals defeated the Florida Panthers at home by a score of 12–2. It was also the first time that the Senators had scored ten goals in a regular-season game since November 13, 2001, when they defeated the Capitals 11–5 away in Washington, D.C. On November 29, 2005, the Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4–0 and, in doing so, improved to a 19–3–0 record through their first 22 games of the regular season. Over that span, Ottawa outscored its opponents 102–45. Spezza had reached 41 points (11 goals and 30 assists) and Alfredsson had reached 40 points (20 goals and 20 assists) by this point. Heatley recorded a point in every one of these games and had 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points.

In an 8–2 win over Toronto on December 17, 2005, the Senators set a franchise record for most power play goals scored in one game, with six. On February 2, 2006, the Senators scored three short-handed goals in a 7–2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was the second time in franchise history that the Senators scored three shorthanded goals in a single game, as the Senators had scored three shorthanded goals in a 5–2 home win over the Florida Panthers on November 18, 2000.

Dany Heatley became the first Senator in franchise history to reach 100 points on April 13, 2006, recording two assists during a 5–4 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers and five days later became the first Senator to score 50 goals in a season. Meanwhile, defenceman Wade Redden became the first Senator to win the NHL Plus/Minus Award, tied with New York Ranger Michal Rozsival, with a +35 rating. Despite missing 14 games, Jason Spezza finished second in the NHL in assists, with 71.

Season standings

Playoffs

The Ottawa Senators ended the 2005–06 regular season as the Eastern Conference's first seed, qualifying for the playoffs for the ninth time in the franchise's 13 seasons of play.

Ray Emery took over the starting goaltender duties; he became the first rookie netminder since Philadelphia's Brian Boucher in 2000 to win a playoff series when the Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, four games to one. The Senators were then defeated by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, four games to one.

After the playoff loss, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk comforted fans in an open letter by saying that their team would not only win the Stanley Cup in the future but, once they had it, they would, he boasted, "hoard" it year after year.

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- | 1 || October 5 || Ottawa || 3–2 || Toronto Maple Leafs || SO || Hasek || 19,452 || 1–0–0 || 2 || |- | 2 || October 8 || Buffalo Sabres || 0–5 || Ottawa || || Hasek || 19,661 || 2–0–0 || 4 || |- | 3 || October 10 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 5–6 || Ottawa || SO || Hasek || 18,680 || 3–0–0 || 6 || |- | 4 || October 11 || Ottawa || 4–2 || Montreal Canadiens || || Emery || 21,273 || 4–0–0 || 8 || |- | 5 || October 15 || Boston Bruins || 1–5 || Ottawa || || Hasek || 19,379 || 5–0–0 || 10 || |- | 6 || October 21 || Ottawa || 4–1 || Tampa Bay Lightning || || Hasek || 20,494 || 6–0–0 || 12 || |- | 7 || October 24 || Ottawa || 2–3 || Carolina Hurricanes || || Hasek || 12,116 || 6–1–0 || 12 || |- | 8 || October 27 || Montreal Canadiens || 3–4 || Ottawa || OT || Emery || 18,840 || 7–1–0 || 14 || |- | 9 || October 29 || Ottawa || 8–0 || Toronto Maple Leafs || || Hasek || 19,480 || 8–1–0 || 16 || |- | 10 ||October 30 || Philadelphia Flyers || 5–3 || Ottawa || || Hasek || 19,335 || 8–2–0 || 16 ||

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- | 1 || April 21 || Tampa Bay || 1–4 || Ottawa || || Emery || 19,660 || Senators lead 1–0 || |- | 2 || April 23 || Tampa Bay || 4–3 || Ottawa || || Emery || 19,745 || Series tied 1–1 || |- | 3 || April 25 || Ottawa || 8–4 || Tampa Bay || || Emery || 20,815 || Senators lead 2–1 || |- | 4 || April 27 || Ottawa || 5–2 || Tampa Bay || || Emery || 20,682 || Senators lead 3–1 || |- | 5 || April 29 || Tampa Bay || 2–3 || Ottawa || || Emery || 20,004 || Senators win 4–1 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.*
• • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.*

Goaltending

• • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only.*

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

The Senators were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

Ottawa's picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft in Ottawa, Ontario.

Farm teams

• Binghamton Senators (American Hockey League)
• Charlotte Checkers (ECHL)

Notes

References

References

1. Garrioch, Bruce. (October 30, 2007). "Team Reports". The Hockey News.
2. (November 17, 2005). "The Cash Line easily wins the vote". Ottawa Citizen.
3. Brennan, Don. (November 13, 2005). "Saturday night's all right". Ottawa Sun/Slam Sports.
4. Garrioch, Bruce. (October 2, 2007). "Pizza Line Ordered Up". Ottawa Sun.
5. Panzeri, Allen. (May 28, 2007). "Sens carry a nation's hopes; Ducks hope playing with less pressure is to their advantage". Calgary Herald.
6. "2005-06 Ottawa Senators Roster and Statistics".
7. "2005-06 NHL Summary".
8. (October 6, 2005). "Sens Edge Leafs in First Shootout". TSN.ca.
9. "Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals Box Score — January 11, 2003".
10. "Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals Box Score — November 13, 2001".
11. "Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators Box Score — December 17, 2005".
12. "Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins Box Score — February 2, 2006".
13. "Florida Panthers at Ottawa Senators Box Score — November 18, 2000".
14. TSN.ca Staff with CP, Ottawa Senators' files. (2006). "Melnyk confident Sens will be a dynasty".
15. "2005-06 Ottawa Senators Schedule".
16. "Postseason All-Star Teams".
17. "Bud Light Plus-Minus Award award winners at hockeydb.com".
18. (April 3, 2006). "Emery named NHL defensive player of the month".
19. (February 14, 2006). "Alfredsson will let his play do the talking".
20. (November 27, 2005). "Spezza named player of the week".
21. (April 4, 2006). "Senators' Emery named NHL Rookie of the Month".
22. Ottawa Senators 2014–15 Media Guide, p.162–82
23. "2005-06 NHL Debuts".
24. "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
25. (July 30, 2005). "Senators trade forward Todd White".
26. (August 24, 2005). "Thrashers Trade Heatley to the Senators for Hossa".
27. (October 5, 2005). "Jets vs. Panthers - Game Recap - October 5, 2005".
28. (March 8, 2006). "Bulletin: Senators acquire Tyler Arnason from Chicago".
29. (August 19, 2005). "Friday roundup: Senators, Martins reunite".
30. (August 26, 2005). "Ottawa adds Heerema, Ward".
31. (September 17, 2005). "Bulletin: Senators sign Charlie Stephens and Joe Cullen".
32. (September 30, 2005). "Bulletin: Senators send four players to Binghamton (AHL)".
33. (March 8, 2006). "Bulletin: Senators sign defenceman Brad Norton to NHL contract".
34. (March 9, 2006). "Bulletin: Senators claim Mike Morrison off waivers from Edmonton".
35. (August 1, 2005). "Free Agents List".
36. "Grizzly Adams Online: Home".
37. (August 4, 2005). "Thursday roundup: Avs to keep Tanguay, Sauer".
38. "ANDY HEDLUND".
39. (August 22, 2005). "Monday roundup: Coyotes keep Mara in pack".
40. (September 12, 2005). "Langfeld Signed; 6 Sent Back".
41. (May 12, 2006). "Jan Platil Lukon takalinjoille, Porkka lopettaa".
42. "HV71.se - officiell hemsida for HV71".
43. (July 27, 2005). "Hasek gets new deal with Ottawa".
44. (August 3, 2005). "TRANSACTIONS".
45. (August 10, 2005). "Wednesday roundup: Turek retires from Flames, NHL".
46. (August 11, 2005). "Senators re-sign G Emery".
47. (August 12, 2005). "Friday roundup: Flames re-sign Kiprusoff, Warrener".
48. (August 16, 2005). "Ottawa re-signs Kelly, McGrattan".
49. (August 23, 2005). "Eaves Signs With Senators".
50. (August 25, 2005). "Meszaros signs with the Senators".
51. (September 16, 2005). "Bulletin: Senators sign goaltender Jeff Glass".
52. (June 5, 2006). "Bulletin: Senators sign two prospects".
53. (June 19, 2006). "Bulletin: Ottawa Senators sign Brian McGrattan and Andy Hedlund".
54. "2005 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com".