James Neal (center) scored a hat trick in the Penguins’ 6-2 Game 5 win. (Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

When the Senators had a parade of players hauled on to the injured reserve, they were expected to sink. When they dropped five in a row in early April, people thought their postseason hopes were gone. And yet Ottawa found ways to win games, make it to the playoffs, make it past the first round.

Well, after a season of exceeding expectations and proving doubters wrong, Ottawa finally reached the end of its line; after 58 games, the Senators just could not muster any more of their magic this year, and their surprisingly excellent season ended Friday night as they fell to Pittsburgh, 6-2, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Captain Daniel Alfredsson’s remarks after Game 4 — he had intimated that the end was imminent for his team, that he didn’t think it was likely his Senators could come back — turned out to be spot on. “With their depth and power play right now, you know, it doesn’t look too good,” Alfredsson said.

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By Allan Muir

We know this much about the Ottawa Senators. Placed on a slab and fitted for a toe tag early this season after Jason Spezza, Craig Anderson and Erik Karlsson were dispatched to the long-term IR, this team hopped off and danced a jig on its own grave just to prove everyone wrong. So maybe writing the Sens’ obituary before they have a chance to play Game 5 in Pittsburgh tonight is a bit foolish.

Granted, Daniel Alfredsson, the team’s captain, doesn’t like Ottawa’s long-term chances for survival, but that doesn’t mean they won’t live to fight at least one more day.

“If you ask anyone and they looked at our series, I don’t think there’s too many people who would have pick us right now. That’s what I meant,” Alfredsson said by way of explaining his post-Game 4 quote that the Sens probably wouldn’t win the series. “We have an opportunity and we’re still in the playoffs. We have always responded when we were up against the wall and I expect us to do the same thing [in Game 5] and give ourselves a chance to win a game and come back [to Ottawa for Game 6].”

GAME 4: Muir’s take | Recap | Boxscore | Highlights | Complete postseason schedule

Whether they come into the contest as never-say-die warriors, or with the easy calm of a team that has nothing to lose, the Senators still face long odds of extending the series against a Pittsburgh squad that proved it could keep its foot on the gas in Wednesday’s 7-3 thumping.

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Senators goalie Craig Anderson finally cracked against the Penguins in Game 4. (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Ottawa Senators finally proved they knew how to take a lead. They just didn’t know how to hold the lead.

That might sound like an old Seinfeld bit, but no one in Ottawa was laughing.

After Milan Michalek and Kyle Turris staked the Sens to a 2-1 edge during an entertaining first period, the Pittsburgh Penguins roared back with six unanswered goals on the way to a 7-3 win and commanding 3-1 series lead.

Here are some observations from the pivotal Game 4:

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Colin Greening scored the winning goal in double overtime for the Senators (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Ottawa Senators have it all wrong.

They call themselves “The Pesky Sens,” swiping a catchphrase from the Dallas Stars and using it as a hashtag on Twitter. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so misleading.

The Senators aren’t pesky. They’re resolute, resilient. They proved it again tonight, just when everyone was ready to write them off, piecing together their biggest win of the postseason by beating Pittsburgh 2-1 in double overtime in Game 3 to cut the Pens’ series lead to 2-1.

We’ve all made that mistake before. This is the same team that seemed destined for the draft lottery after losing Jason Spezza, then Craig Anderson, then Erik Karlsson in rapid succession. But the Senators proved everyone wrong, not just earning a playoff berth, but knocking off the second-seed Montreal Canadiens with ease.

So maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised to see them send what looked like a sure loss into overtime with a shorthanded beauty in the final minute off the stick of captain Daniel Alfredsson.

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Sidney Crosby scored a hat trick in 21 minutes against the Sens on Friday night. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Ottawa Senators couldn’t beat the Pittsburgh Penguins even when they managed to keep Sidney Crosby off the score sheet in Game 1. So you can imagine how well things went when Sid went off for a hat trick in Game 2.

Crosby’s three-goal game, his first in more than two years, paced Pitsburgh to a 4-3 win over the Senators Friday night. The Pens now own a 2-0 lead with the series heading back to Ottawa for Game 3 on Sunday.

This was the Kid at his best. Crosby’s first goal came on a quick burst up the wall that left Erik Karlsson in his tracks before he wristed one by Craig Anderson just 3:16 in. His second came on a vicious snapper that beat a baffled Anderson to the short side 13 minutes later. He completed the trick 1:15 into the second, timing his release to take advantage of a moving screen out front before blasting one over the keeper’s shoulder from the top of the circle.

That was it for Anderson, who was pulled for the first time this season. And really, that was it for the Senators as well. Sure, some sloppy play from goaltender Tomas Vokoun kept them in the game, but Crosby’s star turn was too much for Ottawa to overcome.

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Craig Anderson’s excellent play in goal was a big reason for the Senators’ success. (Francois Lacasse/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Peter Budaj, Michael Blunden, Jeff Halpern and Gabriel Dumont weren’t the players expected to lead the Montreal Canadiens to playoff glory.

So really, who can be surprised they didn’t?

Missing their starting goalie, their captain, one of their top forwards and a heart-and-soul winger, the half-staffed Canadiens were no match for the Ottawa Senators Thursday night. They bowed meekly, 6-1, in the decisive Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

The Sens now await the results of the other quarter-final series, but likely will face the Pittsburgh Penguins, who took a 3-2 series lead after shutting out the New York Islanders tonight.

Some thoughts and observations on this elimination game:

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Kyle Turris (left) celebrated after scoring the winning goal for Ottawa in overtime. (Jay Kopinski/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

It was in the bag. The Montreal Canadiens, still smarting from their Game 3 humiliation, built up a 2-0 lead on the Ottawa Senators. They played with urgency and passion, never giving the home team a chance to build any momentum from Sunday night’s thumping. Through 40 minutes, Montreal looked like a team ready to regain control of this series.

And then it all fell apart.

Mika Zibanejad cut the lead to one when the NHL war room ruled he hadn’t kicked the puck behind Carey Price, despite what seemed like compelling video evidence. Then, with Craig Anderson pulled for the extra attacker, Cory Conacher joined a mad scramble in the Montreal crease, where he somehow managed to poke the puck in with just 23 seconds remaining.

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Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored a hat trick after appearing in just nine regular season games. (Jay Kopinski/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Heading into their playoff meeting, the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens didn’t have any obvious rivalry with each other. Three games later, that’s no longer the case. The ill will that was built upon the Lars Eller hit and the ensuing war of words through the first two contests was amped up to a new level after Ottawa humiliated the Habs 6-1 in a fractious, fight-filled Game 3. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, a rookie who played in just nine regular season games, led the Sens with three goals and Craig Anderson recorded 34 saves in the win. Ottawa now leads the series 2-1.

Here are a few observations from the contest:

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Ottawa’s Craig Anderson had 48 saves in the Senators’ win over Montreal. (Minas Panagiotakis/Icon SMI)

By Brian Cazeneuve

The Ottawa Senators came out strong in Game 1 of their playoff series against the Canadiens, getting a 4-2 win in Montreal to take a 1-0 series lead. Here’s a breakdown of some major moments from the opening game.

• Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson made a fabulous play to slice through the Montreal defense and produce the first goal of the game. Last season’s Norris Trophy winner always looks like he’s just gliding along, not really pushing the play up the ice as fast as he is. It doesn’t matter how many times opponents have seen it or how many of them know it’s coming; everybody seems to underestimate Karlsson’s speed. By the time he had shifted his stride from his own end of the ice and into the neutral zone, it was already too late for the chasing Canadiens to close the gap on him. Karlsson split the space between Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec and then skipped the puck to Kyle Turris on his left side – it looked more like a lost puck than a pass, but who’s counting – and then took a return feed from Turris and tipped it behind Carey Price. How many times this season and last has Karlsson split forecheckers and defenses who misjudge his speed?

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Erik Karlsson’s near-miraculous return from injury gives Ottawa an added dimension. (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

EAST PREVIEWS: Pens-Islanders | Canadiens-Senators | Capitals-Rangers | Bruins-Leafs

WEST PREVIEWS: Hawks-Wild | Ducks-Red Wings | Canucks-Sharks | Blues-Kings

Regular-season recaps

Jan. 30: Senators 5, Canadiens 1

Feb. 3: Canadiens 2, Senators 1

Feb. 25: Senators 2, Canadiens 1 (SO)

March 13: Canadiens 4, Senators 3

Notable injuries

Canadiens: D Alexei Emelin (knee, out for season)

Senators: F Jason Spezza (back, indefinite); Chris Phillips (lower body, day-to-day)

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