2007 – 08 Ottawa Senators season The 2007 – 08 Ottawa Senators season began on October 3 , 2007 , in Toronto against the Toronto Maple Leafs . It was the Ottawa Senators ' 15th season in the National Hockey League . The Senators started strongly in the regular season , but the team slumped after Christmas , and just barely qualified for the playoffs . The slump caused the Senators to fire John Paddock who was in his first season as coach . The Senators lost in the first round , losing in a sweep by the Pittsburgh Penguins . Offseason . The 2007 NHL Entry Draft was held in Columbus , Ohio , on June 22 – 23 , and the Sens used their first - round draft pick , 29th overall , to select James O ' Brien . Prior to the season , the Senators changed their staff , promoting Bryan Murray to general manager , and John Paddock to coach . Previous general manager John Muckler did not accept another position with the Senators and resigned . Two players , Mike Comrie and Tom Preissing , left as free agents , and Peter Schaefer was traded to Boston for Shean Donovan . Pre - season . In the pre - season , a major incident occurred in the game against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 25 . Early in the second period , forward Dean McAmmond was hit in the head by Steve Downie of the Flyers . Downie was given a " match " penalty with automatic suspension . McAmmond was diagnosed with a concussion . Four Flyer players were injured in the match , won by the Senators by two goals . Steve Downie was eventually suspended for 20 games for the hit , also adding a 9 game suspension from the NHL ' s affiliate , the American Hockey League . The Senators won all seven of their pre - season games , and were the only NHL team to do so that year . Regular season . The Senators opened the regular season with two straight wins over their rivals , the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Battle of Ontario . The season opener at Toronto ended in overtime with right winger Dany Heatley notching two goals and an assist to start the season off 1 – 0 – 0 . That afternoon , Heatley also agreed to a new contract , a six year , $ 45 million deal . The Senators earned another win the following day in their home opener , with captain Daniel Alfredsson scoring two goals . Before the game , the 2007 Eastern Conference Champions banner was raised to the rafters of Scotiabank Place . The Sens went undefeated to start the season until the streak was snapped in their sixth game with a 5 – 3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes , on October 11 . In a later win vs . Montreal , rookie and draft pick Nick Foligno scored his first NHL goal off a wrap - around attempt on Carey Price . He celebrated the goal by imitating his father Mike ' s signature goal celebration , a high jump . After a 8 – 1 record to start the season , and with a one week break , head coach John Paddock organized a team retreat to the Muskoka area starting on October 21 . With their win over the Maple Leafs on November 6 , 2007 , the Senators set a team record by recording their eighth consecutive win . They also set an NHL record for the best start to a season after 14 games . Also on November 6 , six Senators were named to the All - Star Game ballot : Daniel Alfredsson , Ray Emery , Dany Heatley , Chris Phillips , Wade Redden and Jason Spezza . The most from any one team in the NHL . As of December 5 , 2007 , Daniel Alfredsson trails only Sidney Crosby in the Eastern Conference voting for forwards with 119 , 825 votes . After a 4 – 2 win against Montreal , the Senators entered into a 7 – game losing skid ( 0 – 4 – 3 ) recording 3 points , matching a record for straight losses set in the 1995 – 96 season . The Sens then rebounded with a 6 – game winning streak . On January 2 , 2008 , coach Paddock was named to coach the Eastern Conference All - Star team and Jason Spezza was named the NHL ' s number one star for the month of December . On January 8 , 2008 , Daniel Alfredsson was named to the starting lineup for the All - Star game , based on fan voting . He is the first Senator ever to be voted to the starting lineup . Alfredsson will be making his fifth appearance in the All - Star Game . On January 11 , 2008 , Alfredsson ' s ' CASH line ' linemates , Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were named to the All - Star Game roster . They are the first complete line named since 1981 , when the " Triple Crown " line of the Los Angeles Kings was named . However due to Heatley ' s shoulder injury suffered against the Detroit Red Wings earlier in January , he did not dress in the game . On January 24 , 2008 , in a game against Tampa Bay , Daniel Alfredsson set a new team record for points in a single game , getting seven points on three goals and four assists . This topped the team record of six , done three times , the last time by Alfredsson himself against Buffalo on November 2 , 2005 . A six - point game had also been done by Dan Quinn and Radek Bonk . The seven point night put Alfredsson into the overall lead in the scoring race for the all - star break . Also , Alfredsson was named the " First Star " for the week on January 28 , 2008 . He was also named Hockey News " Player of the Week " on that same day . On January 28 , 2008 , Ray Emery arrived late for a practice in New York on the first day back after the All - Star Game . Emery was fined $ 15 , 000 and the money was donated to the Children ' s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Foundation . Despite his team ' s disappointment with his behaviour , it did not stop Emery starting against the Maple Leafs in a nationally - televised game , following Coach Paddock ' s " lose and you ' re out " policy of rotating his goaltenders depending on the team winning or losing , and not the goaltender ' s performance . Dany Heatley returned from his separated shoulder injury after a month on injured reserve on February 7 , 2008 , scoring two goals in a win against the Florida Panthers . On February 8 , 2008 , The Sports Network ( TSN ) reported that Wade Redden refused to waive his no - trade clause for a possible deal with the San Jose Sharks . Redden ' s agent was quoted as saying that " Redden wants to stay in Ottawa and contribute to Ottawa winning the Stanley Cup . On February 11 , 2008 , the Senators made a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes sending defenceman Joe Corvo and forward Patrick Eaves in exchange for forward Cory Stillman and defenceman Mike Commodore in a trade for " Stanley Cup experience " , according to manager Murray . Also that day , the NHL announced that Jason Spezza was named " First Star " for the week , after recording 11 points in the previous week ' s three games . On February 27 , 2008 , after a prolonged slump through January and February during which the Senators won only 7 of 21 games , Murray fired head coach Paddock and assistant coach Ron Low , taking over the coaching duties himself . Both Low and Paddock were offered other jobs within the organization . Murray said he told them to call him in a few weeks . The Senators trailed Buffalo 3 – 1 on March 25 , 2008 , with under eight minutes to play in the third period but scored five unanswered goals to win 6 – 3 . It was only the third time in NHL history that a team scored six - or - more goals in a game despite scoring no more than one goal through the first 52 : 00 . The team remained upbeat after the poor play and coaching change . Alfredsson appeared on the cover of the April 1 , 2008 , issue of The Hockey News , proclaiming " Don ' t Count Us Out " . This was his seventh appearance on the cover of the magazine . The article interviewed Alfredsson , Fisher and Murray , and discussed the up and down play of the team , and its defensive play which has allowed more goals than previous seasons . Wayne Gretzky was quoted about the team : " This might mature them as a team going through this tough patch . " Entering the final week of play , the Senators needed 3 points in 3 games to guarantee a playoff position ahead of the Washington Capitals who held an edge in a tie - breaker between the teams . In the first game , Montreal would defeat the Senators 3 – 0 . According to the Globe and Mail , before the next game on April 3 in Toronto , Ottawa employed the use of sports psychologist Dr . Max Offenberger . The Senators defeated the Maple Leafs 8 – 2 , but lost Alfredsson and Fisher to injuries , adding to Chris Kelly who was already sidelined . The Capitals continued to win , and it came down to the Senators final game , on April 4 at home against Boston , needing one point to clinch a spot . Despite a 2 – 1 Senators ' loss that night the Carolina Hurricanes fell to the Florida Panthers and the Senators clinched a playoff berth for the 11th straight season . On April 6 , the final day of the season , the Pittsburgh Penguins played the Philadelphia Flyers to decide the final seedings and lost 2 – 0 , drawing the Senators as first round opponents . According to Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer it appeared deliberate : “ Two days after Double Clinch Friday came Letdown Sunday . Fans who filled the Wachovia Center expecting a fresh installment of There Will Be Blood got stuck watching Farce of the Penguins instead . No Sidney Crosby , not much effort . The Pittsburgh Penguins paid the Flyers a huge compliment yesterday . They made it embarrassingly clear that they preferred to face the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs . After skating through the motions of a 2 – 0 loss to Philadelphia , the Pens will indeed face the Sens . ” Playoffs . The Ottawa Senators clinched a playoff spot for the 11th straight year , finishing 2nd in the Northeast Division , and 7th in the Eastern Conference . The Senators faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarter - finals and lost the series 4 – 0 . The result led to speculation in the media that Ray Emery ' s contract would be bought out and free agents Mike Commodore , Martin Lapointe , Wade Redden , Luke Richardson and Cory Stillman would not return for the 2008 – 09 season . GM Bryan Murray was given a public endorsement by owner Eugene Melnyk and is expected to return . On April 18 , 2008 , Murray confirmed to the media in an end - of - season press conference that Emery would not return : " My plan is not to have him back . " Stillman and Commodore totals only include time with Senators . Transactions . The Senators have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007 – 08 season .