2005 – 06 Ottawa Senators season 2005 – 06 Ottawa Senators season was the 13th season of the Ottawa Senators . After one of their franchise - best regular seasons , finishing with 113 points , the Senators made it to the Eastern Conference Semi - final , in which the Buffalo Sabres eliminated Ottawa in five games . 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 " involved Marian Hossa and Greg DeVries 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 GM Muckler felt that Hossa was worth and so he was dealt away . Marian had lead the Sens in scoring . Regular season . Heatley , together with Alfredsson and Spezza , formed one of the league ' 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 has picked up is the ' Pizza Line ' , and is the nickname used by the Citizen ' s rival paper , the " Ottawa Sun " . However , during the press conference to introduce the teams for the 2007 Stanley Cup Final , Dany 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 country ' s national teams , while Jason Spezza was a substitute for Canada . The experience was not good for the Senators : Dominik Hasek was having a good season but the team lost him to a hamstring injury he suffered while playing for the Czech national ice hockey team . He would not play again for the Senators . In addition to leading the NHL with most goals for ( 312 ) , 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 AHL during the lock - out . But with five minutes to go , with the Senators trailing , then Senators ' coach Bryan Murray replaced Bochenski with Alfredsson and Alfredsson 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 . Heatley became the first Ottawa 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 . Playoffs . The Ottawa Senators ended the 2005 – 06 regular season as the Eastern Conference ' s first seed . 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 Tampa Bay 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 , Eugene Melnyk ( the team ' s owner ) 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 . Eastern Conference Quarter - finals : vs . ( 8 ) Tampa Bay Lightning . " Ottawa wins series 4 – 1 . " Eastern Conference Semi - finals : vs . ( 4 ) Buffalo Sabres . " Buffalo wins series 4 – 1 . " Roster . Sources : Draft picks . Ottawa ' s picks at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa , Ontario .