Claude Giroux and Senators are taking notes from Flyers’ reverse sweep in 2010

Sports

add

OTTAWA — Much has been made of the Ottawa Senators’ inexperience as they play their first postseason series in eight years. Young stars such as Tim Stützle and Brady Tkachuk are simply getting their feet wet when it comes to playing in these high-pressure environments.

But you don’t get wins for showing up. The Sens have a monstrous 3-0 series deficit to climb.

“It’s not time to feel sorry for ourselves,” Senators forward Claude Giroux said Thursday night after a Game 3 overtime loss to Toronto. “We need to understand that we’re playing some good hockey. The last two games could’ve (gone) either way. We just need to keep pushing, keep playing the way we’ve been playing all year in our last two games. You never know what could happen.”

Veteran words from a player who’s been in this exact situation before. He’s the only player on either side of this Battle of Ontario who has helped accomplish a near-impossible feat: come back after being down three games to none.

The odds are long for Giroux’s Senators to overcome a 3-0 series deficit at the hands of the Maple Leafs. Only four teams in NHL history have ever done it. That includes the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers, who reverse-swept the Boston Bruins thanks in part to a young Giroux coming into his own. Giroux had just wrapped up his first full regular season in the league yet was already an integral part of the team that made history.

“He was right at an inflection point where he was starting to become a star,” Chris Pronger said, “starting to take over our team from an offensive side of the game. You had Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Danny Brière, players in that calibre he was underneath at the time. We had a young James van Riemsdyk. Him and (Giroux) were the young guys coming up.”

“I remember being impressed at how much he relished the spotlight,” Brière said. “He wanted to be a difference-maker. How fearless he was. And he just seemed to love the big games and the big moments.”

The 2010 Flyers persisted through injuries and a midseason coaching change before beating the New York Rangers in a shootout in their final game of the regular season just to make the playoffs. The Flyers upset the Devils in the first round before having the Bruins in their sights. But the Flyers were stunned as they processed their 3-0 series deficit while hanging out in their players’ lounge after their Game 3 loss. Philadelphia dropped the first game in overtime before losing another one-goal game in Game 2, and then allowed two third-period goals to lose 4-1 in Game 3.

“There’s probably about 10 to 12 of the veterans, kind of an extended leadership group, and we couldn’t believe where we were at,” Brière said. “That’s kind of what made me believe that we had a chance. Because we were all flabbergasted that we were down. It just did not make sense. We had played way better than that to deserve to be down at that juncture.”

Claude Giroux as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2009-10 season (Kevin Hoffman / USA Today)

That belief meant everything to the Flyers, who attacked every ensuing game one by one to give themselves a chance. The Flyers knew they’d be in tough; Boston lost centre David Krejci to a wrist injury in Game 3 but still boasted a strong squad with playoff warriors in Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic and Tuukka Rask. Even Marc Savard, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ current assistant coach, was on that team.

“Not one person was hanging their head, not one person felt like we got outplayed. Not one person felt like the series was over,” Pronger said. “It was like: ‘OK, I’ve got to win the next one. It’s in this locker room. We believe in ourselves, we believe in one another.’

“You can’t focus on games 5, 6 and 7. You have to focus on the first one. You don’t win Game 4, you know it’s over.”

Giroux scored and added an assist in a do-or-die Game 4, when the Flyers won in overtime to stay alive. After being held pointless in Game 5, Giroux picked up assists in games 6 and 7. Giroux assisted on a late first-period goal that kick-started the Flyers’ comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the deciding game.

“We got back to the dressing room after the first period, and it was dead quiet,” Brière said. “Nobody was talking, nobody was saying a word. We were all angry at ourselves for letting this happen that way and being down.”

The Flyers then scored twice in the second, including a goal from Brière, and it was only a matter of time before they won the game. Flyers players were jumping around and couldn’t contain their excitement, and that was before Simon Gagné scored the game-winning goal in the third period. But their mentality shifted once the final horn sounded

“It wasn’t solely focused on winning the series,” Pronger said. “It wasn’t about trying to make history and being one of the lone teams to come back from a 3-0 deficit. We’ve got to play Montreal next (in the conference finals). We were just focused on who we were going to be playing.”

It was an experience that propelled Philadelphia to a Stanley Cup Final appearance that spring against Chicago.

Fifteen years later, Brière and Pronger still have fond memories of that Cup run. There’s a strong chance Giroux does, too. He’s emerged as the Sens’ leading scorer with three points in three games. With their backs against the wall, Brière wouldn’t be surprised if Giroux imparts wisdom from that run to his Sens teammates.

“He was part of it, and it happened. It’s so rare, but he was part of it. He knows what could happen,” Brière said.

Even if Giroux’s new teammates won’t share notes. Jake Sanderson wouldn’t, anyway. Thomas Chabot knows about that 2010 run but wasn’t interested in comparing any team that’s made such a comeback to this year’s Senators. David Perron wasn’t interested in divulging much from those “brief conversations” either.

“Nothing more, nothing less,” Perron said. “No headlines.”

Brière and Pronger have watched parts of the Sens-Leafs series and, similarly to their former teammate, feel games 2 and 3 could’ve easily swung in the Senators’ favour. Even if the Sens are mostly still green in playoff experience, Pronger feels they could still use whatever doubts have been thrown at them as motivating factors.

“That type of stuff they need to use as motivation,” Pronger said. “Not as a chance to get mad and pout. That’s something to use to stoke the fires a little bit more to spur them on and try to be great.”

That “pout” quote sounds a bit familiar. Giroux said his team couldn’t afford to do that as it prepared for a Game 4 on Saturday at Canadian Tire Centre, as the Sens hope to emulate those 2010 Flyers.

“They’re waiting and they’re looking for something to happen,” Brière said. “They’re looking for a break to go their way. And you never know after that.”

(Top photo: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

Kings’ Game 3 loss turned on failed, unnecessary challenge: ‘It cost us big time’

Sports

Next

trending_flat

What would a dream Bruins offseason look like? David Carle, Matthew Schaefer and Mitch Marner

Sports