1921–22 Ottawa Senators season
The 1921–22 Ottawa Senators season was the club's 37th season of play, fifth season in the NHL, and they were coming off back-to-back Stanley Cup Championship seasons, winning in 1920 and 1921. The Senators would finish in first place in the standings, but lost in the playoff to the Toronto St. Pats. Regular season. Punch Broadbent emerged as the offensive leader for the Senators, leading the NHL in goals (32) and points (46). He scored in an NHL record 16 straight games. Teammate Cy Denneny finished in 2nd in NHL scoring with 39  points, and 3rd in goals at 27. On February 1, former Senators player Sprague Cleghorn, then on the Montreal Canadiens, cut Senators players Eddie Gerard and Cy Denneny, while taking a charge at Frank Nighbor. All 3 players missed 2 games due to the injuries they occurred, while Cleghorn was given a match penalty and fined $15 by the league. Clint Benedict once again had a great season, winning an NHL best 14 games, while leading the league with a 3.34 GAA. On February 11, 1922, the Senators and the Toronto St. Pats made NHL history, as the teams  played to a 4–4 draw, the first time in NHL history that a game ended in a tie. December. The Senators opened the 1921-22 season on December 17 in Hamilton, as Ottawa defeated the Hamilton Tigers 3-2 in overtime. Punch Broadbent scored the overtime winner for the Sens. Four nights later, the Senators hosted the Toronto St. Patricks for their home opener. Toronto spoiled the party, beating Ottawa 5-4 despite a three goal game by the Senators Eddie Gerard. The Sens returned to the win column in their third game of the season, as they demolished the  Montreal Canadiens by a score of 10-0. on Christmas Eve. Clint Benedict earned the shutout for Ottawa, while Cy Denneny scored three times. The Senators would follow this victory with two more in December, defeating the Canadiens 2-1 in Montreal in an overtime thriller on December 28, followed by a 4-0 shutout win over Hamilton on New Years Eve. Ottawa earned a record of 4-1-0 during December, getting eight points. The Senators sat in first place in the NHL, two points ahead of the second place St. Patricks. January. Ottawa opened the month of January  with a loss to the Toronto St. Patricks by a 3-2 score, moving the two teams into a first place tie. Following the loss to Toronto, the Senators would win their next four games, including two wins over Toronto, as they moved into sole possession of first place with a record of 8-2-0. In their 10-6 win over the Montreal Canadiens on January 18, both Cy Denneny and Punch Broadbent recorded three goal games. The Senators four game winning streak would be snapped as they lost to the Hamilton Tigers 7-6 in overtime in Hamilton . The Sens rebounded in their next game, defeating the Tigers 4-2 on home ice. Ottawa finished the January portion of their schedule with a 2-1 win over the St. Patricks in Toronto. Punch Broadbent scored both goals for Ottawa while Clint Benedict was very solid in the Ottawa goal. The Sens had a record of 6-2-0 in the month of January. Overall, the Senators had a 10-3-0 record, earning 20 points on the season, and in first place in the NHL. They were six points ahead of the second place St. Patricks. February. Ottawa  started February off with a victories over the Montreal Canadiens and Hamilton Tigers, extending their winning streak to four games. In the second game of a home-and-home against the Tigers, the Senators win streak was snapped, as Hamilton pummelled the Senators 9-1. On February 11, the Senators and Toronto St. Patricks battled to a 4-4 tie, which was the first draw in NHL history. Two nights later, the Senators and Canadiens fought to a 6-6 draw. The Senators won their next two games, defeating the Tigers 4-2 and the Canadiens 4-3, improving their  record to 14-4-2. Ottawa clinched a berth in the NHL finals at this time. The Sens would lose their final game of February by a 7-5 score to the Toronto St. Patricks. The team finished February with a 4-2-2 record in eight games. The Senators overall win–loss record was 14-5-2, earning 30 points and clinching first place in the NHL. March. Ottawa struggled during the month of March. As the club had already clinched a playoff berth, the Senators would rest some of their regular players. The club opened the month with  back-to-back 2-1 losses, first to the Toronto St. Patricks, followed by the Montreal Canadiens. Ottawa concluded the regular season with a 7-2 loss to the Hamilton Tigers, as the club lost their final four games of the season. Ottawa had a 0-3-0 record in March. Overall, the club finished with the best record in the NHL, with a 14-8-2 record. Playoffs. The Senators would once again play for the O'Brien Cup, where they would face the Toronto St. Patricks in a two game total goal series. The series opened on March 11  in Toronto. The St. Patricks took a very early 2-0 lead, with two goals in the first 3:05 of the game. The Senators responded with three straight goals, as Frank Nighbor scored 7:05 into the game, followed by two goals by Cy Denneny, to give Ottawa a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission. The St. Pats tied the game with a goal by Babe Dye 8:30 into the second period, however, Ottawa regained the lead as Frank Nighbor scored his second of the game, giving the Senators a 4-3 lead. Dye would once again tie the  game with a very late goal, as the two teams were tied 4-4 after two periods. In the third period, the St. Patricks Corb Denneny scored the game winning goal with five minutes remaining in the game, giving the St. Patricks a 5-4 series lead after the first game. The series moved to Ottawa for the second game on March 13. It was a very defensive contest, as Ottawa could not break through and the two teams fought to a 0-0 tie. With this result, Toronto won the series 5 goals to 4 and would represent the  NHL at the 1922 Stanley Cup Finals. Transactions. The Senators were involved in the following transactions during the 1921–22 season.