Playoffs The Goal For 30 NHL Teams

Posted by Roy Mlakar on March 26, 2009

Any team that tells its fans that "improvement" is its goal – and doesn’t make reaching the playoffs its top priority – is probably a struggling franchise. In Ottawa, fans have now seen their team go to the post-season for 11 consecutive years, a streak that is second in the NHL only to the Detroit Red Wings (the New Jersey Devils have also made the playoffs every season since 1996-97, matching Ottawa's streak).

The Senators, who reached the Stanley Cup final just two years ago, are a “driven franchise.” To be sure, it was to the delight of every coach, player, trainer or member of team management that almost 15,000 Sens fans lined the street after the team returned home from its hard-fought battle with the Ducks in 2007. I remember some players fighting back the tears in appreciation of seeing all the fans demonstrating their gratitude for “the run.” Of course, winning the Cup has always been the goal of this franchise and that of our fans.

The latest Senators drive to continue the playoff appearance streak has been fun for all involved with the club and, of course, the fans. "Cory (Clouston, our head coach) has everyone on the same page," said Senators general manager Bryan  Murray.  "It looks like they are having fun, both in the upbeat practices as well as the games. The trouble now is, with the three-point games, it's very hard to make up ground.”

Whether you choose to call it “competitive balance” or  “parity,” as we go down the final 10-game stretch, 24 teams are still alive in the race to secure one of the 16 berths to compete for Lord Stanley's silverware. You can't say the NHL hasn't been exciting this season, right down to the end.