1925–26 Ottawa Senators season
The 1925–26 Ottawa Senators season was the club's 41st season of play and ninth season in the NHL. The Senators placed first during the regular season but were upset in the playoffs by the Montreal Maroons. Off-season. The Hamilton Tigers franchise folded and their players would be purchased by the New York Americans expansion team, while the Pittsburgh Pirates would also join the NHL, making it a seven team league. Prior to the season, Tommy Gorman and Ted Dey sold their interests in the team to T. Franklin Ahearn, who then hired Dave Gill  to be the GM, and former Senators player Alex Currie as head coach. Pre-season. The Senators welcomed the Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars to town for two exhibition games on November 19 and 21, with proceeds to the Ottawa Humane Society. Ottawa won both games, 6–2 and 2–0. Regular season. Ottawa, who missed the playoffs the previous season, would go on to finish with a league best 24–8–4 record, and earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs, however, they were upset by the Montreal Maroons in the NHL final, losing the two-game total-goal series  2–1. Cy Denneny would once again lead the club offensively, scoring 24 goals and 36 points, while Frank Nighbor would win the Lady Byng Trophy for the 2nd straight season. November/December. The Senators opened the 1925-26 season with a four game home stand that began on November 28, as Ottawa held off the Montreal Maroons for a 3-2 victory. The Senators, led by goaltender Alec Connell, would earn three consecutive shutouts against the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Americans to begin the season with a 4-0-0 record. Ottawa traveled to Montreal on December  12 for their first road game of the season as the Montreal Maroons snapped the Senators winning streak at four games with a 5-2 loss. The next game in Boston against the Boston Bruins three nights later saw the Senators return to their winning ways, as Ottawa defeated the Bruins 2-1. The Senators stayed hot for the month of December, as the club finished the month with five consecutive victories, including shutout victories against the Montreal Canadiens on December 17 and the Pittsburgh Pirates on December 30. The club finished the month with a very impressive 9-1 -0 record in 10 games, earning 18 points. The Senators were in first place as they held a two point lead on the second place Montreal Maroons. January. The Toronto St. Patricks snapped Ottawa's five game winning streak on New Year's Day, as the Senators lost 3-0 on the road. This proved to be the only loss that Ottawa would suffer in the month of January. Following the loss, the Senators returned home and defeated the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 5-0 on January 5. Two nights later, Ottawa traveled to Montreal to face the  Montreal Maroons as the two clubs fought to a 1-1 draw. The Senators then would earn shutouts in their next two games, as they defeated the New York Americans 1-0 in overtime on January 11, then they shutout the Pittsburgh Pirates two nights later by another 1-0 score. Ottawa stayed red hot, as they won their final five games in January, which extended their unbeaten streak nine games (8-0-1). On January 26, the Senators scored a season-high eight goals in a game, as they defeated the Boston Bruins 8-2 at the Boston Garden . On January 30, Alec Connell earned his eighth shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over the New York Americans. The Senators had a league-best record of 17-2-1 at the end of January, earning 35 points. The team earned a record of 8-1-1 in ten games during the month. The club had a lead of eight points over the Montreal Maroons, who sat in second place in the NHL standings. February. The Senators saw their nine game unbeaten streak snapped on February 2, as the Pittsburgh Pirates earned a shutout victory, defeating Ottawa  1-0. The Senators continued to slump during their next two games, as they lost to the Boston Bruins and Toronto St. Patricks to post their first multi-game losing streak of the season. Ottawa snapped their three game skid with a 2-1 victory over the Toronto St. Patricks on February 11, which was the start of a three game winning streak, in which the Senators also recorded back-to-back victories in a home-and-home series with the Montreal Canadiens. In their next two games, the Senators faced off against the Montreal Maroons as the teams fought  to two ties. This extended the Senators unbeaten streak to five games. Ottawa capped off the month of February with a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on February 27, which extended their unbeaten streak to six games (4-0-2). Ottawa earned a record of 4-3-2 record in nine games during February. This brought their overall record to 21-5-3, earning 45 points. Ottawa remained in first place in the NHL standings, as they were six points ahead of the second place Montreal Maroons. March. Ottawa began the month of March with a home-and -home series against the New York Americans beginning on March 2 in Ottawa. The Americans snapped the Senators six game unbeaten streak as the Senators lost 3-1 in the first game, however, Ottawa rebounded two nights later with a 1-0 shutout victory at Madison Square Garden. On March 6, the Senators lost to the Boston Bruins 1-0, however, two nights later, the Senators returned to the win column with a 3-0 shutout victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, which was the 14th shutout of the season for goaltender Alec Connell. The Senators went on a quick two -game road trip beginning on March 13, as they tied the Toronto St. Patricks by a score of 1-1. Two nights later, the Senators suffered a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ottawa finished the season on March 17 back at home against the Toronto St. Patricks, as Alec Connell earned his 15th shutout of the season in a 4-0 victory. The Senators earned a record of 3-3-1 in seven games in March. The club finished the regular season with a 24-8-4 record, earning 52 points and finishing in first place in the  NHL standings, seven points ahead of the second place Montreal Maroons. The Senators advanced to the O'Brien Trophy finals and would play the winner of the second place Montreal Maroons and the third place Pittsburgh Pirates for the NHL championship. Playoffs. The Senators went against the Maroons in a two-game total-goals series for the NHL championship and lost two goals to one. The Maroons had Punch Broadbent and goaltender Clint Benedict, two former Senators stars in the lineup, who would figure prominently in the series. By placing first, the Senators had a bye to the NHL Championship round  against the second-place Maroons who had defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates. At home in the first game, the Maroons tied the Senators 1–1. Former Senator Punch Broadbent scored at 8 minutes of the second period to put the Maroons ahead. The lead lasted until King Clancy tied the game with ten seconds left. In the second game, held at Ottawa, the Maroons took the series with a 1–0 shutout victory to win the NHL championship. Babe Siebert on an individual rush, scored off his own rebound at the six-minute mark of the second period. Cy Denneny appeared to tie  the score a minute later, but the play was off-side. The Maroons held off the attack of the Senators the rest of the way in front of a record attendance of 10,525. After the playoff, the Senators welcomed the Saskatoon Sheiks for a pair of exhibition games on April 1 and April 3. The series matched the two leagues' runner-up teams. The Senators won the first game, played under NHL rules 4–3. The second game was played under WHL rules and the Sheiks won 7–5. The Sheiks were on an exhibition tour and played in Montreal on April  4 against the Canadiens in a benefit game for Georges Vezina's family. Transactions. The Senators were involved in the following transactions during the 1925–26 season.