2001–02 Ottawa Senators season

The 2001–02 Ottawa Senators season was the 10th season of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season saw the Senators place third in the Northeast Division, with 94 points. In the playoffs, they upset the Philadelphia Flyers in five games, limiting the Flyers' high-powered offence to just two goals for the franchise's second playoff series win. This led to a second round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which the Sens lost in a tense seven-game affair. == Off-season == Prior to the season, former captain Alexei Yashin was traded to the New York Islanders for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and the Islanders' first-round draft pick (second overall), which the Sens used to draft Jason Spezza. Chara and Muckalt would play for the Senators, while Spezza returned to junior. == Regular season == On November 13, 2001, the Senators defeated the Washington Capitals on the road by a score of 11–5. Captain Daniel Alfredsson scored a hat-trick in the game. It was the first time that an NHL team had scored ten goals in a regular-season game since February 3, 1999, when the Washington Capitals defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning at home by a score of 10–1. It was also the first time in modern franchise history that the Senators had scored ten goals in a regular-season game. === Final standings === Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs. Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast Z – Clinched conference; Y – Clinched division; X – Clinched playoff spot == Playoffs == In the first round, Ottawa was matched against the Philadelphia Flyers, who were favoured. After the Flyers won the first game, the Senators won the next four. Patrick Lalime would record three consecutive shutouts in games two through four. The Senators won the series by winning the fifth game in overtime, in Philadelphia. The Senators would go against the Toronto Maple Leafs for the third consecutive season in the playoffs. The teams would take turns winning games and the series would go seven games, with the deciding game won in Toronto by the Maple Leafs. == Schedule and results == === Regular season === === Playoffs === == Player statistics == === Scoring === Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only. ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Senators only. === Goaltending === == Awards and records == === Awards === === Milestones === == Transactions == The Senators were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2001, the day after the deciding game of the 2001 Stanley Cup Final, through June 13, 2002, the day of the deciding game of the 2002 Stanley Cup Final. === Trades === === Players acquired === === Players lost === === Signings === == Draft picks == Ottawa's draft picks from the 2001 NHL entry draft held on June 23 and 24, 2001, at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. == Farm teams == === Grand Rapids Griffins === The Grand Rapids Griffins joined the American Hockey League for the 2001–02 season, as the International Hockey League folded. Bruce Cassidy remained the head coach of the Griffins. The Griffins finished the season winning the West Division with a 42–27–11–0 record, earning 95 points. This placed the club in second place in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, Grand Rapids was upset by the Chicago Wolves in the conference quarter-finals. Kip Miller led the team with 56 points in 41 games, however, he left the club on January 16 as he signed a free agent contract with the New York Islanders. Petr Schastlivy led Grand Rapids with 22 goals in only 35 games. Martin Prusek had a team best 18–8–5 record with a 1.83 GAA and a .930 save percentage. Prusek, Simon Lajeunesse and Mathieu Chouinard won the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award for the lowest goals against average in the league. Cassidy won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for AHL Coach of the Year. === Mobile Mysticks === The Senators continued their ECHL affiliation with the Mobile Mysticks for the 2001–02 season. Jeff Pyle remained as the head coach of the team. The Mysticks failed to qualify for the post-season, as they finished in fifth place in the Southwest Division with a 28–26–18 record, earning 74 points. Hugues Gervais led the Mysticks with 34 goals and 57 points. Greg Hewitt led the team with 20 wins, while Simon Lajeunesse posted a team best 2.86 GAA. == See also == 2001–02 NHL season == Notes == == References ==