page_title: History of the Ottawa Senators (1992–)
section_title: 2006–07: Trip to the Stanley Cup Finals
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Ottawa Senators (1992–) / 2004–2017: Bryan Murray era / 2006–07: Trip to the Stanley Cup Finals
caption_attribution_description: Daniel Alfredsson
context_page_description: Founded and established by Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone, the Ottawa Senators are the second National Hockey League franchise to have the Ottawa Senators name. The original Ottawa Senators, founded in 1883, had a famed history, winning 11 Stanley Cups and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934. On December 6, 1990, after a two-year public campaign by Firestone to return the NHL to Ottawa, the NHL awarded a new franchise, which began play in the 1992–93 season.
  The club has seen its share of struggles, both on and off the ice. The team has had two changes of ownership, from Firestone to Rod Bryden in 1993 due to the arena development process and its financing, and subsequently to Eugene Melnyk after the team filed for bankruptcy in 2003. On the ice, the club finished last in the League in its first four seasons. Changes in hockey management have led to steady improvement of the team's play, resulting in the team qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs in 11 of the last 12 seasons, winning the Presidents' Trophy in 2002–03 and making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007.
context_section_description: The Senators' season went off to a poor start, and was marked by a struggle to reach a .500 win-loss ratio. Until December, the team had a 21–18–1 record, though they had much more success in the remaining half of the season, eventually finishing second in the Division after the Presidents' Trophy-winning Sabres and earning the fourth seed in the East. They ultimately finished with 105 points, their fourth-straight 100-point season and sixth in their last eight.
  In the playoffs, Ottawa's fourth placing in the Conference meant that the first-round playoff series was against the fifth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. Some media were expecting the Penguins to win the series for three reasons—the Penguins had won the season series, the Senators' past playoff troubles and the strong young talent of the Penguins, particularly young star Sidney Crosby. The Senators, however, won easily by a score of four games to one, including a 3–0 shutout win in Game 5. This was the only series where the Senators were the higher-seeded team.
  The second-round series was against the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils in a rematch of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals. The Senators again won by a score of four games to one.
  Next, the Senators faced off against Buffalo in the Conference Final, looking to get even for losing to the Sabres in the 2006 playoffs. The Senators took the series, again by a score of four games to one, earning the Prince of Wales Trophy as the Eastern Conference champions and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the Western Conference-winning Anaheim Ducks. Daniel Alfredsson scored the series-winning goal, (see video) in overtime, redemption for being beaten a year before on the goal that eliminated Ottawa from the playoffs. It was also the first series win by the Senators against the Sabres.
  First Stanley Cup finals in the capital in 80 years
  The 2006–07 Senators thus became the first Ottawa team to be in the Stanley Cup Finals since the 1927 Stanley Cup Finals. Despite the 80-year gap, one fan attended games both the 1927 and the 2007 Finals—the third game of the series and first home game for Ottawa on June 2 was attended by 99-year-old Russell Williams as a guest of the Senators. He had attended the last Finals game in Ottawa on April 13, 1927, played in the old Ottawa Auditorium. Both the 1927 and 2007 games were won by the Senators.
  The city was swept up in the excitement of being in the Finals. Businesses along all the main streets posted large hand-drawn "Go Sens Go" signs, residents put up large displays in front of their homes or decorated their cars. A large Senators flag was draped on the City Hall, along with a large video screen showing the games. A six-story likeness of Daniel Alfredsson was hung on the Corel building and the Senators organization held rallies at City Hall, and car rallies of decorated cars paraded from Lynx stadium, through downtown to Scotiabank Place.
  The series marked the first time that an NHL team with a captain from Europe had made the Finals, as Senators captain Alfredsson hails from Sweden. (Previously, only Americans or Canadians had captained teams in the Finals.) Alfredsson would be one of the bright lights for the Senators in the series, as he had been in all the playoff series. But he would be one of the few bright lights as Anaheim won the series in five games bolstered by strong defensive play and opportunistic scoring.
  The first two games were in Anaheim, both won by the Ducks by one-goal margins. Game 3 went to the Senators, but Game 4 in Ottawa was won by the Ducks, for an insurmountable three games to one lead. The Ducks would finish the series in Game 5 at home. The Ducks had been favoured to win the Cup since before the season started. The Senators were the third consecutive Canadian franchise to reach the Final and they suffered the same fate as the Calgary Flames of 2004 and the Edmonton Oilers of 2006.
caption: Captain Daniel Alfredsson improved his play in the 2007 playoffs, tallying a League-leading 22 points.
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