1917–18 Ottawa Senators season
The 1917–18 Ottawa Senators season was the team's first season in the newly formed National Hockey League and 33rd season of play overall. The Senators, along with the Montreal and Quebec franchises of the National Hockey Association, voted to suspend the NHA and form the NHL. Ottawa would finish second and third in the first and second halves of the season, and did not qualify for the playoffs.
Regular season
was in the Air Corps and did not rejoin the team until later in the season. Horace Merrill quit ice hockey prior to the season, but would eventually play in a few games for the team. Rusty Crawford played for the Senators until Nighbor returned.The Senators began their membership in the new NHL with a 7–4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at The Arena in Ottawa on December 19, 1917. The game began with team regulars Jack Darragh and Hamby Shore holding out in a contract dispute. This would be resolved in time for the second period. By then, the Canadiens had a 3–0 lead and the Senators could not make up the difference. Joe Malone of the Canadiens scored five goals in the win.
The team would record their first NHL win a week later on the December 26 on the road against the Montreal Wanderers. The Senators would then record their first ever NHL home win three days later against the same Wanderers.
The Wanderers withdrew from the league six games into the season due to a fire burning down their arena, so that left the NHL with three teams, the Senators, Canadiens and the Torontos. Ottawa picked up Dave Ritchie and Harry Hyland in the dispersal of players. Hyland would become Ottawa's playing coach. Ottawa would finish third in the first half, and second in the second half to miss out on the playoffs.
Cy Denneny would lead the team in scoring with 36 goals, behind only Joe Malone of the Canadiens in league scoring. Goaltender Clint Benedict would win all nine games for the team, and post a 5.12 GAA.
December
The Senators opened the inaugural season of the National Hockey League on December 19, 1917, as the Sens lost to the Montreal Canadiens 7-4 on home ice. In the first period, Montreal took a 3-0 lead, as Joe Malone scored two of the Canadiens goals. Ottawa finally scored 4:30 into the second period, as Eddie Gerard scored the first goal for the club in the NHL. Montreal stormed back with two goals by Malone, taking a 5-1 lead, however, the Senators Cy Denneny scored twice before the end of the period to cut the Canadiens lead to 5-3. In the third period, Malone scored 6:00 into the period, his fifth goal of the game, followed by a late goal by Didier Pitre, giving Montreal a 7-3 lead. Denneny scored his third goal of the game with two minutes left, making the final score 7-4 for Montreal.On December 22, the Senators played their first road game, as they faced the Toronto Arenas in Toronto. The Arenas destroyed the Senators, winning the game 11-4.
The Senators finally won their first game on December 26, as they travelled to Montreal to face the Montreal Wanderers. Ottawa was led by two goals by Cy Denneny and strong goaltending by Clint Benedict in the victory. Three nights later, the Senators defeated the Wanderers for their first win on home ice, winning by a score of 9-2.
Ottawa finished December with a 2-2-0 record, earning four points. The Senators sat in a tie for second place in the NHL with the Toronto Arenas, two points behind the first place Montreal Canadiens.
January
The Senators struggled at the start of January, dropping their first three games, including two losses to the Montreal Canadiens, dropping their overall record to 2-5-0. With the Montreal Wanderers withdrawing from the league due to a fire burning down their home arena in early January, the NHL was trimmed down to a three team league.The Senators returned to the win column on January 14, defeating the Toronto Arenas 9-6 in a high scoring game. Cy Denneny and Jack Darragh each scored three goals for Ottawa in the win. Ottawa would then drop their next two games, as their win-loss record fell to 3-7-0.
Ottawa would rebound with two victories, defeating both the Canadiens and Arenas, however, Ottawa lost their final game of the month to the Montreal Canadiens on January 28.
The Sens finished January with a disappointing 3-6-0 record. The club slipped into last place in the NHL with a 5-8-0 record, earning 10 points. Ottawa was four points behind the Toronto Arenas for second place, and ten points behind the league leading Montreal Canadiens.
February/March
The Senators first game of February was officially their final game of the first half of the season. Ottawa dropped the game by a score of 8-2 to the Toronto Arenas, finishing the first half of the season with a 5-9-0 record, which placed them in last in the NHL and failing to earn a berth for the NHL finals.Ottawa opened the second half of the season with a very solid 6-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens, as Cy Denneny scored three goals for the Senators and goaltender Clint Benedict held off the high scoring Canadiens.
Following the win, the Senators would lose their next four games, dropping them into last place once again. Ottawa would snap their losing skid in the final game of the month, as Clint Benedict earned the first shutout in Senators history, as Ottawa defeated the Montreal Canadiens 8-0.
The Senators extended their winning streak in the final game of February, as the club, led once again by Benedict, and two goals by Frank Nighbor, defeated the Canadiens 3-1.
In their final game of the regular season on March 6, Ottawa defeated the Toronto Arenas 9-3, extending their winning streak to three games.
Ottawa finished the second half of the season with a 4-4-0 record, earning eight points. This placed the Senators in second place in the three team NHL, two points behind the first place Toronto Arenas. As Ottawa did not have the best record in the NHL in either the first or second half of the season, the team did not qualify for the NHL championship.