1996–97 Ottawa Senators season

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1996–97 Ottawa Senators
Division	3rd Northeast Division
Conference	7th Eastern Conference
1996–97 record	31–36–15
Home record	16–17–8
Road record	15–19–7
Goals for	226
Goals against	234
General Manager	Pierre Gauthier
Coach	Jacques Martin
Captain	Randy Cunneyworth
Alternate captains	Unknown Unknown
Arena	Corel Centre
Average attendance	15,371 per game (630,196 total)
Team leaders
Goals	Alexei Yashin (35)
Assists	Daniel Alfredsson (47)
Points	Alexei Yashin (75)
Penalties in minutes	Denny Lambert (217)
Plus/Minus	Frantisek Musil (+6)
Wins	Ron Tugnutt (17)
Goals against average	Damian Rhodes (2.72)

The 1996–97 Ottawa Senators season was a season of great improvement by the club, as the team finished out of last place in the NHL for the first time in team history, and went on to qualify for the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Contents:	Regular season – Playoffs – Player stats – Awards and records - Transactions Roster - Draft picks – Farm teams – See also – References

Ottawa would get off to a slow start, with a 7–12–6 record in their first 25 games, but as the season would go on, the team would get better, finishing with a .500 record in their remaining 57 games, and would earn 45 points in the last 41 games of the regular season. The Sens would go 10–4–2 in their final 16 games of the season, including a 1–0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in the final game of the season to earn a playoff berth.

Alexei Yashin and Daniel Alfredsson would lead the club offensively, while Ron Tugnutt and Damian Rhodes would provide very solid goaltending for the team throughout the season.

In the playoffs, the Senators would face the Buffalo Sabres, and nearly pulled off the upset against their heavily favoured opponent, losing to the Sabres in overtime in the 7th game of the series, ending a very memorable season for the team.

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Season standings

Northeast Division	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Buffalo Sabres	82	40	30	12	237	208	92
Pittsburgh Penguins	82	38	36	8	285	280	84
Ottawa Senators	82	31	36	15	226	234	77
Montreal Canadiens	82	31	36	15	249	276	77
Hartford Whalers	82	32	39	11	226	256	75
Boston Bruins	82	26	47	9	234	300	61

[edit] Game log

[edit] October

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 5	Ottawa Senators	3–3	Montreal Canadiens	0–0–1	1
2	October 9	New York Islanders	3–3	Ottawa Senators	0–0–2	2
3	October 11	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–3	Ottawa Senators	1–0–2	4
4	October 12	Ottawa Senators	2–3	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–1–2	4
5	October 18	Ottawa Senators	2–2	New Jersey Devils	1–1–3	5
6	October 19	Montreal Canadiens	3–6	Ottawa Senators	2–1–3	7
7	October 23	Ottawa Senators	2–5	Florida Panthers	2–2–3	7
8	October 24	Ottawa Senators	5–2	Tampa Bay Lightning	3–2–3	9
9	October 26	Ottawa Senators	1–5	Dallas Stars	3–3–3	9
10	October 30	Los Angeles Kings	2–2	Ottawa Senators	3–3–4	10

[edit] November

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
11	November 1	Detroit Red Wings	2–2	Ottawa Senators	3–3–5	11
12	November 2	Ottawa Senators	3–7	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–4–5	11
13	November 7	Toronto Maple Leafs	2–6	Ottawa Senators	4–4–5	13
14	November 9	Boston Bruins	4–3	Ottawa Senators	4–5–5	13
15	November 10	Ottawa Senators	0–2	Chicago Blackhawks	4–6–5	13
16	November 13	Edmonton Oilers	4–0	Ottawa Senators	4–7–5	13
17	November 15	Chicago Blackhawks	3–4	Ottawa Senators	5–7–5	15
18	November 16	Ottawa Senators	4–1	New York Islanders	6–7–5	17
19	November 19	New Jersey Devils	2–1	Ottawa Senators	6–8–5	17
20	November 23	Hartford Whalers	3–3	Ottawa Senators	6–8–6	18
21	November 27	Ottawa Senators	2–1	Washington Capitals	7–8–6	20
22	November 29	Ottawa Senators	0–3	Buffalo Sabres	7–9–6	20
23	November 30	Philadelphia Flyers	4–3	Ottawa Senators	7–10–6	20

[edit] December

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
24	December 4	Pittsburgh Penguins	4–2	Ottawa Senators	7–11–6	20
25	December 6	Ottawa Senators	2–5	Edmonton Oilers	7–12–6	20
26	December 7	Ottawa Senators	3–2	Vancouver Canucks	8–12–6	22
27	December 10	Ottawa Senators	5–5	Calgary Flames	8–12–7	23
28	December 13	Phoenix Coyotes	4–2	Ottawa Senators	8–13–7	23
29	December 15	Dallas Stars	4–0	Ottawa Senators	8–14–7	23
30	December 19	Florida Panthers	2–5	Ottawa Senators	9–14–7	25
31	December 21	Buffalo Sabres	3–2	Ottawa Senators	9–15–7	25
32	December 23	Ottawa Senators	6–0	Montreal Canadiens	10–15–7	27
33	December 26	New York Rangers	2–5	Ottawa Senators	11–15–7	29
34	December 28	Ottawa Senators	2–3	Hartford Whalers	11–16–7	29
35	December 30	Anaheim Mighty Ducks	4–3	Ottawa Senators	11–17–7	29

[edit] January

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
36	January 1	Boston Bruins	2–3	Ottawa Senators	12–17–7	31
37	January 3	New Jersey Devils	1–0	Ottawa Senators	12–18–7	31
38	January 4	Ottawa Senators	4–6	New York Rangers	12–19–7	31
39	January 6	Tampa Bay Lightning	4–3	Ottawa Senators	12–20–7	31
40	January 9	Colorado Avalanche	2–0	Ottawa Senators	12–21–7	31
41	January 11	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–3	Ottawa Senators	12–21–8	32
42	January 13	Ottawa Senators	4–3	Boston Bruins	13–21–8	34
43	January 15	Washington Capitals	1–5	Ottawa Senators	14–21–8	36
44	January 22	Boston Bruins	4–1	Ottawa Senators	14–22–8	36
45	January 24	Calgary Flames	2–2	Ottawa Senators	14–22–9	37
46	January 27	Tampa Bay Lightning	3–5	Ottawa Senators	15–22–9	39
47	January 29	Ottawa Senators	1–1	New Jersey Devils	15–22–10	40
48	January 30	St. Louis Blues	5–2	Ottawa Senators	15–23–10	40

[edit] February

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
49	February 1	Ottawa Senators	2–1	Toronto Maple Leafs	16–23–10	42
50	February 3	Vancouver Canucks	4–6	Ottawa Senators	17–23–10	44
51	February 4	Ottawa Senators	4–3	Boston Bruins	18–23–10	46
52	February 8	San Jose Sharks	3–3	Ottawa Senators	18–23–11	47
53	February 9	Ottawa Senators	1–2	Buffalo Sabres	18–24–11	47
54	February 11	Ottawa Senators	5–5	New York Islanders	18–24–12	48
55	February 13	Ottawa Senators	2–4	Philadelphia Flyers	18–25–12	48
56	February 15	Ottawa Senators	1–2	Hartford Whalers	18–26–12	48
57	February 16	Hartford Whalers	2–4	Ottawa Senators	19–26–12	50
58	February 18	Ottawa Senators	6–1	Washington Capitals	20–26–12	52
59	February 20	Ottawa Senators	1–1	St. Louis Blues	20–26–13	53
60	February 23	Ottawa Senators	3–4	Colorado Avalanche	20–27–13	53
61	February 26	Philadelphia Flyers	8–5	Ottawa Senators	20–28–13	53
62	February 28	New York Islanders	1–4	Ottawa Senators	21–28–13	55

[edit] March

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
63	March 1	Buffalo Sabres	3–1	Ottawa Senators	21–29–13	55
64	March 5	Ottawa Senators	1–4	Anaheim Mighty Ducks	21–30–13	55
65	March 6	Ottawa Senators	0–2	San Jose Sharks	21–31–13	55
66	March 8	Ottawa Senators	1–3	Los Angeles Kings	21–32–13	55
67	March 10	Ottawa Senators	4–1	Phoenix Coyotes	22–32–13	57
68	March 14	New York Rangers	4–3	Ottawa Senators	22–33–13	57
69	March 15	Ottawa Senators	2–2	Montreal Canadiens	22–33–14	58
70	March 17	Ottawa Senators	4–3	New York Rangers	23–33–14	60
71	March 20	Florida Panthers	2–2	Ottawa Senators	23–33–15	61
72	March 22	Ottawa Senators	5–4	Boston Bruins	24–33–15	63
73	March 25	Ottawa Senators	0–5	Tampa Bay Lightning	24–34–15	63
74	March 27	Ottawa Senators	3–2	Florida Panthers	25–34–15	65
75	March 29	Montreal Canadiens	2–5	Ottawa Senators	26–34–15	67

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
76	April 2	Ottawa Senators	2–0	Buffalo Sabres	27–34–15	69
77	April 3	Washington Capitals	0–4	Ottawa Senators	28–34–15	71
78	April 5	Ottawa Senators	2–5	Pittsburgh Penguins	28–35–15	71
79	April 6	Ottawa Senators	1–2	Philadelphia Flyers	28–36–15	71
80	April 9	Hartford Whalers	4–5	Ottawa Senators	29–36–15	73
81	April 11	Ottawa Senators	3–2	Detroit Red Wings	30–36–15	75
82	April 12	Buffalo Sabres	0–1	Ottawa Senators	31–36–15	77

[edit] Playoffs

The Ottawa Senators ended the 1996–97 regular season as the Eastern Conference's seventh seed.

[edit] Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo wins series 4–3

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 17	Ottawa	0 – 1	Buffalo	0 – 1
2	April 19	Ottawa	3 – 1	Buffalo	1 – 1
3	April 21	Buffalo	3 – 2	Ottawa	1 – 2
4	April 23	Buffalo	0 – 1	Ottawa	2 – 2
5	April 25	Ottawa	4 – 1	Buffalo	3 – 2
6	April 27	Buffalo	3 – 0	Ottawa	3 – 3
7	April 29	Ottawa	2 – 3	Buffalo	3 – 4

[edit] Player stats

[edit] Regular Season

[edit] Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Alexei Yashin	82	35	40	75	44
Daniel Alfredsson	76	24	47	71	30
Alexandre Daigle	82	26	25	51	33
Steve Duchesne	78	19	28	47	38
Randy Cunneyworth	76	12	24	36	99

[edit] Goaltending

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Damian Rhodes	50	2934	14	20	14	133	1	.890	2.72
Ron Tugnutt	37	1991	17	15	1	93	3	.895	2.80
Mike Bales	1	52	0	1	0	4	0	.778	4.62

[edit] Playoffs

[edit] Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Daniel Alfredsson	7	5	2	7	6
Alexei Yashin	7	1	5	6	2
Steve Duchesne	7	1	4	5	0
Wade Redden	7	1	3	4	2
Shawn McEachern	7	2	0	2	8

[edit] Goaltending

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Ron Tugnutt	7	425	3	4	14	1	.917	1.98

[edit] Draft picks

Ottawa's draft picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft in St. Louis, Missouri.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	1	Chris Phillips	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
4	81	Antti-Jussi Niemi	Finland	Jokerit (Finland)
6	136	Andreas Dackell	Sweden	Brynäs IF (Sweden)
7	163	Francois Hardy	Canada	Val d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
8	212	Erich Goldmann	Germany	Mannheim Eagles (DEL)
9	216	Ivan Ciernik	Slovakia	MHC Plastika Nitra (Slovakia)
9	239	Sami Salo	Finland	TPS (Finland)

[edit] See also

• 1996–97 NHL Season

[edit] References

v • d • e Ottawa Senators Franchise • History • Players • Seasons • Records • Draft picks • Scotiabank Place • Binghamton Senators • Bell Sensplex Head Coaches Bowness • Allison • Martin • Murray • Paddock • Murray General Managers Bridgman • Sexton • Gauthier • Dudley • Johnston • Muckler • Murray

v • d • e Ottawa Senators Seasons 1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00 • 2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09

v • d • e 1996–97 NHL season by team Northeast Division Boston • Buffalo • Hartford • Montreal • Ottawa • Pittsburgh Atlantic Division Florida • New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia • Tampa Bay • Washington Central Division Chicago • Dallas • Detroit • Phoenix • St. Louis • Toronto Pacific Division Anaheim • Calgary • Colorado • Edmonton • L.A. • San Jose • Vancouver See also 1996 NHL Entry Draft • Stanley Cup Playoffs • Stanley Cup Finals