The Eastern Conference Final.
Before this season, the Senators have only been there twice in their franchise history and it was never supposed to happen this year. Not to this team.
Much can and will be made of the circumstances under which the 2016-17 Ottawa Senators reached the postseason. The NHL’s playoff format punished better Metropolitan Clubs and gave the Senators an easier path. The Boston were decimated by injuries to key positions and were undone by the absence of their second line centre and three of their defencemen. The New York Rangers’ Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist faltered during the series with Senators stopping only 90.