Hammond steals another as Senators move on to playoffs

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SENATORS 3, FLYERS 1

PHILADELPHIA – The improbable has become a dead certainty.

On the last day of the regular season, the Ottawa Senators punched their ticket to the post-season and they did so in style, beating the Flyers in regulation to assure a place among the top eight teams of the Eastern Conference.

Fans and players alike will have to wait until Saturday night to learn the Senators final place in the standings and first-round opponent, depending on the outcomes of other games. We know this much. The Senators have avoided a first-round matchup against the first-place New York Rangers, and that is good news.

Up next, Montreal or Tampa Bay.

After a two-month pursuit of this singular moment, staff and players didn’t mind waiting a few more hours to see where they will go for round one of the playoffs next week.

The man of the hour, the man of the two-month march, goaltender Andrew Hammond was again spectacular, making 34 saves. In his spare time, the Hamburglar saved the day.

With the win Hammond ran his incredible record to 20-1-2. Yes, Hammond is a 20-game winner. If he were a baseball pitcher he’d be in line for the Cy Young Award. As it is, he is the main reason the Senators are in the playoffs today. Throughout, Hammond has been there at his team’s hour of need.

In his 23 starts, Hammond allowed only five third-period goals. Clutch.

Unlike recent games, the Senators didn’t seem to have their legs, leading to some consternation among team staff, behind the bench and up in the press box. Head coach Dave Cameron gave his troops a loud vocal blast not long before the Senators winning goal.

For long stretches of the middle period, the Senators were in chase mode as the Flyers worked the boards.

After killing off a carry-over penalty from the first period, the Flyers tied the game 1-1 early in the second after some sloppy work by Ottawa defenders. The Senators won a faceoff in their end but lost possession and allowed Brayden Schenn to circle out front and get the puck to Matt Read at the side of the net. Read did a nice job of settling the puck with his skate before shooting the puck into an open net.

Hammond was then called on to make a couple of huge saves to preserve the tie as the Senators and their fans had some nervous moments. Jakub Voracek was in alone and Hammond got the pad down on his redirect. Earlier, he flicked the left pad to stop Michael Raffl in the high slot during a power play.

If ever they needed to cash in further elements of their charmed existence, it was during this period, as they got out-shot and outplayed by the Flyers but regained the lead off a rare end-to-end rush by defenceman Marc Methot. Methot threw the puck out front where J.G. Pageau converted, chipping a shot over the shoulder of goaltender Steve Mason.

The goal came as a massive relief after the Senators myriad nervous moments. Among them was a late period shot by Raffl that leaked through Hammond but stopped short of the goal line.

The Senators got on the board early, and got their power play going at the same time. They can thank Mason for the gift, he gave the puck away at the side of the net, which Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur graciously accepted and fed to Mark Stone for an easy tap in into an open net.

It was Stone’s 25th of the season as he continued to impress Calder Trophy voters in the final moments of the regular season. In the third period, Stone added goal No. 26, stripping the puck off Voracek before breaking in alone on Mason, beating him with a low shot. Classic Stone fare.

Stone finishes with 64 points on the season, tied with Johnny Gaudreau of Calgary in the rookie race, but Stone gets the edge with more goals.

MacArthur had another prime opportunity in the first period, a mirror play of his goal against the Rangers Thursday. Stone passed the puck out front and MacArthur wound up, but hammered his shot high of the net.

The Flyers came close to scoring on a first period power play but Hammond came up big, including a rebound opportunity for Schenn.

The Flyers outshot Ottawa 14-5 in the first period but the Senators went to their room pleased with their situation. Less than two hours later, they were over the moon.
GAME FILE

WHY THEY WON

Mostly Hammond in this one. With some rock-solid Stone.
CHEERS

To one of the great stretch runs in NHL history.
JEERS

Sorry, not much to jeer about this day.

wscanlan@ottawacitizen.com

@hockeyscanner

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