It was the trap game to end all trap games for the Ottawa Senators, and through the first 10 minutes it looked like they got caught in it.
Searching for their legs while Andrew Hammond looked like the goalie everyone expected before this streak began, the Senators fell behind 2-0 to the lowly Sabres in the first period as they were outplayed and out-chanced by the leaders of the McEcihel sweepstakes.
But then, after the first intermission, the Senators took control and became that team while the Sabres also regressed back into the Sabres. It started with a quick point shot that Erik Karlsson bounced in off Sabres blueliner Zach Bogosian and continued with relentless forecheck pressure by all 4 lines and solid play from all 6 blueliners. They couldn't find the equalizer in that frame but definitely set the tone for the third.
The Senators struck early in the third with Mika Zibanejad and Mark Stone both getting rewarded for driving to the net on very similar type goals. From then on it was matter of playing with a lead and not giving up another one, which is exactly what the Senators did, and Hammond settled in and was very good after a couple of questionable goals got past him in the first, as the Senators used their game in hand to close the gap between themselves and the 2nd Wild Card holding Bruins to just 3 points.
You wold be hard-pressed to point to a Senators player who didn't have a positive impact on the game at some point in time, whether it be on the scoreboard or in the trenches.
As Darren Dreger said during the first intermission of the TSN broadcast, the Senators' slow start was "predictable" after the long and successful road trip, and give them credit to limiting the damage to just 10 minutes and righting the ship before it was too late. Once they got their legs back, they came in waves after the over-matched AHL quality Sabres. They swarmed the Buffalo end when they didn't have the puck to create turnovers, and once they had possession they didn't give it up very easily with a good and patient cycle game.
The test gets a little tougher on Sunday evening as the red-hot Calgary Flames come to town. Like the Senators, the Flames fell behind 2-0 on Friday night but scored 5 unanswered against the Red Wings to win their third straight game and move 2 points up on the Kings for the 3rd seed in the Pacific Division.
That game comes ahead of the first of 2 showdowns with the Bruins in an 8 day period that will go a long way to determining how the rest of the season will play out.
So just to recap, for the Senators and Andrew Hammond, that is now 8 starts, 7 wins and an overtime loss. Ray Emery holds the club record for longest string of games without a regulation loss to start a career with 10, a record that if Hammond can tie ad then even break would be a great thing for the Senators and Hammond himself.
Emery started his career with 9 straight wins over parts of 3 seasons and lost his 10th decision in overtime before finally dropping one in regulation. That was also a different Senators team at the time, as in 2005 Emery allowed 4 goals twice in that streak and Ottawa still managed enough offense to bail him out.
I said well before the streak began that it was going to take winning 8 or 10 games in a row to get them back in contention, and didn't believe it was possible....well 7 out of 8 isn't bad and they are firmly back in the conversation. And with momentum being on their side, they are like a snowball rolling downhill right now, with the Bruins standing in the way.
And the legend of the Hamburglar continues to grow.