?Maybe he has been our most important player.?
Kyle Turris, a quiet, humble young man, certainly wasn?t talking about himself, though it was Turris who on Saturday afternoon, 8:28 into overtime in Game 5 of the Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers series, came over the Rangers blueline and, on his second try, got away a shot that somehow eluded Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
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No, Turris?s ?most important player? was a 37-year-old veteran who had been a healthy scratch for most of the previous two months, a player who scored no goals on Saturday, tallied no assists, didn?t even get a shot on net and spent five times as much time in the penalty box as the minuscule 2:26 he was on the ice.
That would be Chris Neil of Flesherton, Ont., a sixth-round draft pick back in 1998 who has played all his 15 NHL seasons with the Ottawa Senators, this one widely believed to be his last ? at least until Saturday afternoon at Canadian Tire Centre.
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Word went out among the Ottawa players late Friday evening that Neil would be in the lineup. Brassard said when he looked at his e-mail message he got ?excited.? As Brassard put it, ?I?ve never known a guy so passionate about the game.?
At the 3:13 mark of the second period, Neil went to work. The New York Rangers were up 2-1 and Glass was again offering face rubs and cheap shots at every opportunity, particularly on the much smaller Turris. Neil had had enough. He went after Glass in what turned out to be little more than a tussle. Yet it clearly had an effect on his teammates.
?It was clear we needed to answer back some of the liberties they were taking with our skill guys,? Boucher said Sunday. ?I thought they felt protected.?
Glass was given two minutes for interference, Neil two minutes for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct. He was still serving the misconduct when his teammates began their comeback. When he came out of the box, the Senators were ahead 3-2; the Ottawa players saluted him with stick taps as he made his way back across the ice.
?That?s the best penalty I?ve seen anybody take in a long time,? Turris said. ?We?ll take that any day. It gives us such a boost. It gets the crowd going.?
