1919–20 Ottawa Senators season

The 1919–20 Ottawa Senators season was the club's 35th season of play and third season in the NHL. It was a very successful season, as they set an NHL record for wins (19), points (38), and won both halves of the season, therefore the Sens automatically were awarded the NHL championship and the right to play in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Senators defeated Seattle to win their eighth Stanley Cup title.

Regular season

The Quebec Bulldogs team was relaunched and added to the league and the schedule changed from 18 games to 24.  Also, the Toronto Arenas would get new ownership and be renamed the Toronto St. Pats.

Frank Nighbor led the Sens offensively with 26 goals, good for 3rd in the NHL, and his 33 points ranked him 4th.  Clint Benedict would set an NHL record with 5 shutouts, and he led the league in both wins (19) and GAA (2.66).

December
The Senators opened the 1919-20 season on home ice against the Toronto St. Patricks on December 23rd. Ottawa, led by goaltender Clint Benedict, shutout the St. Patricks by a 3-0 score. Four nights later, the Senators played their first road game of the series, and were once again by Benedict, as well as a two point game by Sprague Cleghorn, as Ottawa shutout the Montreal Canadiens 2-0.

Ottawa finished December with a 2-0-0 record, earning four points. The Senators were in first place in the NHL, as second place Toronto also had four points, however, they had played more games by the end of December.

January
The Senators opened the 1920s with a road game against the Quebec Bulldogs, their first meeting against the club on New Year's Day. The Senators defeated Quebec 3-2 to remain perfect on the season with a 3-0-0 record.

Ottawa's winning streak was snapped with a 4-3 loss to the Toronto St. Patricks in their next game. The Senators responded by winning their next three games, highlighted by a 7-1 thrashing of the Bulldogs on January 20th, bringing their overall record to 6-1-0.

On January 17th, Ottawa lost a close 3-2 game to the Montreal Canadiens, ending their winning streak, as Montreal closed within two points of Ottawa for first place in the NHL. The Senators returned to the win column in their following game, blowing out Quebec by a 12-1 score, as both Sprague Cleghorn and Frank Nighbor scored three goals in the win.

Ottawa then faced the St. Patricks in a home-and-home series, with the first game played in Toronto on January 24. The St. Patricks defeated the Senators 5-2, as Ottawa fell into a tie for first place with the Canadiens with a 7-3-0 record. The Senators rebounded in the game played in Ottawa four nights later, shutting out Toronto 7-0.

The Senators played their final game of the first half of the season on January 31 against the Montreal Canadiens, as the winning team would clinch first place. The Senators, led by three goals by Punch Broadbent, humiliated the Canadiens by a score of 11-3 to clinch first place in the first half of the season.

February
Ottawa opened the second half of the season with 5-0 shutout victory over the Quebec Bulldogs on February 4, as Sprague Cleghorn scored twice and Clint Benedict earned the shutout. Three nights later, the Senators dropped a close game to the Toronto St. Patricks, losing 4-3 to drop their second half record to 1-1-0.

The Senators faced the Montreal Canadiens for a home-and-home series starting on February 11 in Ottawa. The Senators Jack Darragh scored the game winning goal late in the third period, as Ottawa won 4-3. Three nights later, the Senators Cy Denneny scored the overtime winner in Montreal, as Ottawa defeated the Canadiens 3-2.

The Senators would close out February by winning their remaining four games, including a blowout 9-3 win over Quebec on February 18, and a 1-0 shutout victory against Toronto on February 28.

The Senators finished February with a 7-1-0 record, earning 14 points, and sitting in first place in the second half standings.

March
The Senators winning streak extended to seven games, as Ottawa defeated the Toronto St. Patricks 7-4 on home ice on March 3. Three nights later, the Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in overtime, as Frank Nighbor scored the winning goal.

The regular season ended with a home-and-home series against the Quebec Bulldogs. In the first game played in Ottawa on March 8, the Bulldogs held a 5-4 lead over the Senators in the third period. Ottawa would storm back and score seven unanswered goals, defeating the Bulldogs 11-6. As the Senators had clinched first place for the second half of the season, the club rested some players in the season finale. Quebec took advantage and defeated Ottawa 10-4.

Overall, Ottawa had a record of 3-1-0 in March. The Senators won the second half of the NHL season as they posted a league best 10-2-0 record, earning 20 points.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs
Ottawa won both halves of the schedule, and no NHL playoffs were played.

Stanley Cup Finals

The Senators would face the Seattle Metropolitans for the Stanley Cup, with all games scheduled to be played in Ottawa.  However an unseasonably warm spring in the Ottawa area led to some problems with the ice at Dey's Arena, and the final two games were moved to Toronto's Arena Gardens, which had artificial ice equipment.

The series opened on March 22 in Ottawa. The Metropolitans Frank Foyston scored the lone goal of the first period, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead over the Senators. Foyston scored his second goal of the game 5:46 into the second period, as Seattle went up 2-0. Frank Nighbor finally got Ottawa on the scoreboard with a goal 14:15 into the second period, cutting the Metropolitans lead to 2-1. In the third period, Nighbor scored his second goal of the game 10:00 into the period, tying the game 2-2. The Senators Jack Darragh scored with 4:00 remaining in the game, as Ottawa held on to a 3-2 win and a 1-0 series lead.

The second game was played in Ottawa on March 24. The Senators Jack Darragh scored the only goal of the first period, as Ottawa took a 1-0 into the first intermission. Neither team scored in the second period, as this was a very tightly defensive game. In the third period, Eddie Gerard scored 6:00 into the period, giving Ottawa a 2-0 lead. Frank Nighbor scored a late goal, as the Senators shutout the Metropolitans 3-0 and took a commanding 2-0 series lead.

The third game was played on March 27 in Ottawa, as the Senators could close out the series and win the Stanley Cup with a victory. The Senators Georges Boucher got Ottawa on the board first with a goal 5:00 into the game. The Metropolitans Frank Foyston replied with his third goal of the series three minutes later, tying the game 1-1 after the first period. In the second period, Foyston scored once again, as Seattle took a 2-1 lead into the third period. The Metropolitans Roy Rickey scored the only goal of the third period, as the Senators couldn't beat Hap Holmes. Seattle won the game 3-1 and cut the Senators series lead to 2-1.

The fourth game was moved to Arena Gardens in Toronto due to ice problems in Ottawa on March 30. The Metropolitans used this to their advantage, as they took a 2-0 lead after the first period. Frank Nighbor brought the Senators to within a goal as he scored 2:00 into the second period, however, the Metropolitans responded with a goal six minutes later, taking a 3-1 lead in the game. Ottawa would once again bring the game to within a goal by the end of the period, as Nighbor scored his second of the game, making it 3-2 Seattle after two periods. In the third period, the Metropolitans scored two goals, including the sixth of the series by Frank Foyston, as they won the game 5-2 and tied the series up at 2-2.

The fifth and deciding game was played in Toronto on April 1. The Metropolitans Bobby Rowe gave Seattle an early 1-0 lead with a goal 10:00 into the first period, however, the Senators Georges Boucher tied the game four minutes later, making it 1-1 after the first period. The teams skated to a scoreless second period, as the game remained tied heading into the third period. Ottawa's Jack Darragh broke the tie with a goal 5:00 into the period, giving Ottawa a 2-1 lead. At the 10:00 mark of the period, the Senators took a 3-1 lead after a goal by Eddie Gerard. Darragh then scored two goals within a minute, giving the Senators a 5-1 lead. Frank Nighbor closed out the scoring with a goal 30 seconds after Darragh's second goal, as Ottawa crushed the Metropolitans 6-1 to clinch the Stanley Cup for the first time since the club joined the NHL.

Ottawa Senators 3, Seattle Metropolitans 2

 Game 4 and Game 5 played at Arena Gardens in Toronto, Ontario.

Schedule and results

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

Awards and records 

 NHL champion (O'Brien Cup not awarded)

Transactions

Ottawa Senators 1920 Stanley Cup champions

See also
 1919–20 NHL season
 List of Stanley Cup champions

References
SHRP Sports
The Internet Hockey Database
National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007

Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons
Category:Ottawa Senators (original) seasons
Ottawa Senators season, 1919-20
Ottawa