Ottawa Senators

MacArhthur's surprise return provides emotional lift for Senators vs Wings
April 5, 2017, 9:46 AM ET [11 Comments]
Jared Crozier
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After missing more than 150 consecutive games, and being out for over 500 days, Clarke MacArthur did something that few people thought he would be able to do - he played in a regular season game for the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

In what was not really a MUST win game, but was essentially a must-win game, the popular Senators forward provided a big emotional lift as he played nearly 10 minutes on the fourth line, and was credited with 1 hit. It wasn't so much what he did on the ice, but the fact that he was there at all that gave his club a bit of extra motivation as his club all but clinched a playoff spot with a 2-0 win over the Red Wings.

Craig Anderson, on a night he was celebrated for playing his 500th NHL game, had a bounce-back night after some iffy goals got past him the previous night in Detroit, made 24 saves for the shutout and Erik Karlsson and Tom Pyatt provided enough offense for the win.

The victory, combined with the Leafs' and Lightning losses in regulation, moved Ottawa to 2nd in the Atlantic Division, while a quirk in the tie-breaker rules show Boston having clinched a playoff spot despite being third place while the Senators still need a point, or have the Lightning and Islanders drop a point, in order to officially clinch a berth in the post-season.

The first chance the Senators have to do so will be Thursday night when they travel to Boston to face the Bruins, in what could be a first round playoff preview as well.

The night belonged to MacArthur, who was very emotional after the game, and being named the game's first star in the building, who didn't know if that night would ever present itself. Granted, he looked like a player who had missed the better part of two seasons and it remains to be seen how much action he will see in the remaining games, but it was certainly an emotional lift for himself and his teammates, who have witnessed first hand how hard he has worked to get back to action and get clearance to play again.

If he does stay in the lineup, it will be touch and go, and for at least a while every time he gets involved in a contact situation I am sure many people will be holding their breath, but credit him for the perseverance and if it had happened a couple of weeks earlier he would probably be a shoo-in for the Bill Masterton Trophy (even ahead of Craig Anderson, who was Ottawa's nominee this season), and if he is able to play next season will be almost a no-brainer.

With Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith out until the playoffs, there will be a spot available for the taking, whether it is Colin White or MacArthur to fill the role. I don't know if 4 games would be long enough for MacArthur to get up to speed, but it provides Guy Boucher with options in the meantime and it is a fabulous story. I think White had a more effective game than MacArthur in the fourth line role, but depending how quickly MacArthur can get up to speed might determine which one gets more reps over the final 3 games.

For the Senators to come back from a disastrous road trip and avoid the jinx of dropping that first game back home is huge, especially when it looked like their hold on a playoff spot was becoming fairly tenuous.

You can also not say enough about the way Ben Harpur played in this one, being called upon to defend a lead in the last two minutes with Erik Karlsson having left the game mid-third period and sitting on the bench but not taking another shift for precautionary measures. Karlsson tumbled awkwardly into the side boards feet first, and although he left and came back, he wasn't needed so cooler heads prevailed and the Senators closed the game without him. Hopefully in was just precautionary and he will be back in the lineup against the Bruins.

In his two games since being recalled, Harpur has answered a lot of questions about his ability, and those who might have preferred Andreas Englund or even the Senators who investigated recalling Thomas Chabot on an emergency basis. Harpur has been solid and played 19 minutes last night, while Mark Borowiecki played a blueline low 14 minutes.

Dion Phaneuf played his 900th game, and Mike Hoffman's assist on Pyatt's insurance marker was his career high 60th point of the season. Karlsson's goal was his 5th game winner of the season and kept him just 3 points behind Brent Burns for the league lead among defensemen.