Non-stop craziness."
Taylor Gagner just shakes his head at the memory.
It was at the 11:49 mark of the third period: Mark Stone, a sixth-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators had just plucked a puck – quick and neat as netting a goldfish from a small aquarium – off the stick of a defender and in a heartbeat it was in another net, this one belonging to the Philadelphia Flyers, for a 3-1 lead.
"Done!" Gagner shouted.
He hadn't needed to see the goal; he could feel it in the explosive, rafters-shaking roar of 11,000 fans – even though the game was being played 720 kilometres away.
Taylor Gagner was ready, as was Colin Pritchard, weekend manager of The Sens Store at the side of the Canadian Tire Centre, which the Senators had opened up so fans could watch their team's 82nd and final game of the 2014-15 NHL season on the hockey rink's huge scoreboard.
The two merchandise sellers knew what Stone's goal meant – "We're in!" – and knew, too, that the onslaught was about to begin as the jubilant crowd watching the game on the Senators' Jumbotron made their way out. Within minutes, they had sold nearly 100 Stone jerseys (No. 61) at $229 a pop. Every Mark Stone jersey and T-shirt was stripped from the walls. They had run out of No. 30, Andrew (Hamburglar) Hammond's goalie jersey and had to call to another store for reinforcements. They were running low on Mike Hoffman's No. 68, local hero Jean-Gabriel Pageau's No. 44 and, of course, of team captain Erik Karlsson's No. 65 with the 'C.'
"Everybody was happy," Gagner says. "Everybody was in a good mood. And they were buying."
Two months ago, the store might have been well-advised to cut back on stock. On Feb. 8, one of those websites that dumps numbers into grinders and comes out with odds placed the chances of the Ottawa Senators making the playoffs at 2 per cent.
On April 11, Saturday, those chances flew to 100 per cent the moment Stone scored and the game in Philadelphia became a foregone conclusion.
The Boston Bruins, chosen by so many experts to reach the Stanley Cup final, were out; the Ottawa Senators were in. The Ottawa Senators, chosen by various experts to finish last or second-last, were not only in but had finished ahead of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, another team tagged to reach the finals. The Senators would now be off to Montreal for a Wednesday opening-round match against the Montreal Canadiens.
That would be the same Canadiens team who, only two years ago, the Senators had outplayed in their heads as well as on the ice to claim a first-round upset over the superior-on-paper Habs. In the psychological stickhandling of the coaches, Ottawa's Paul MacLean had left Montreal's Michel Therrien deked out of his track suit.
Therrien is still in Montreal, but MacLean was fired on Dec. 8 after compiling an 11-11-5 record. The Senators had a new coach in Dave Cameron, a new captain in Karlsson (following Jason's Spezza's trade to Dallas Stars) and new, unproven kids in the likes of Stone and Pageau, both 22 and Hoffman, 25. But the most unproven of all was Hammond, a 27-year-old minor-leaguer from Surrey, B.C., who had never much impressed at any level – until fate landed him with the Senators. With regular goaltender Craig Anderson out with a hand injury and backup Robin Lehner lost to a concussion suffered in a collision with teammate Clarke MacArthur, the Senators had no choice but to play their minor-leaguer, then known, if at all, for being yanked after allowing three goals on four shots in the opening minute of an AHL game.
Fourteen points out of any playoff hope on Feb. 10, the Senators somehow went 23-4-4 over their last 31 games to claim that postseason date. Not since the 1993-94 New York Islanders had come from 12 points back had any team managed such a feat.
They did it on the play of the Hamburglar, who went 20-1-2 over the stretch. They did it on the return to form of former Norris Trophy-winning defenceman Karlsson, whose play took him straight back to Norris consideration once defence partner Marc Methot returned from injury. They did it on the goal scoring of Hoffman, who led all NHL rookies with 27, and on the play of Stone, who tied Calgary Flames rookie sensation Johnny Gaudreau in total points with 64 and has now joined "Johnny Hockey" as a favourite for NHL rookie of the year. Not bad for someone drafted 178th in 2010 and whose skating was so suspect it was questioned whether he would ever be able to play in the NHL.
Well, Stone improved his skating and became so adept at takeaways – perhaps the best in the league – that he is not only playing regularly but starring.
How much credit goes to new head coach Cameron, elevated from an assistant's job, is difficult to say, given the stunning play of goaltender Hammond. But to Cameron's credit, he unleashed the team's youngsters and they performed far better than anyone anticipated.
Ottawa is familiar with unlikely comebacks, but they have been of the political nature. Sir John A. Macdonald returned from scandal to win again in 1878 and govern another 13 years. William Lyon Mackenzie King twice returned to serve as prime minister. Arthur Meighen and Pierre Trudeau came back to the top job after briefly losing it.
None, however, caused quite the local cheering that this sports comeback has brought Ottawa.
As Hammond the Hamburglar said in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon after Stone, with two goals, and Pageau, with one, put the Ottawa Senators in a place no one thought possible two months ago, "I don't think it's something anyone can explain."
So why even bother trying?
Just sit back and enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts.