from Ian Mendes of TSN,

It was four years ago today that Daniel Alfredsson uttered the most memorable two-word phrase in Ottawa Senators history.

“Probably not.”

That was the captain’s response when asked if his team could come back to win against the Pittsburgh Penguins after suffering a lopsided 7-3 loss on May 22, 2013 that pushed the Senators to the brink of elimination. Alfredsson’s controversial comment turned out to be prophetic, as the Senators lost the next game 6-2 to the Penguins and were subsequently eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

And now, history has a funny way of repeating itself.

On Sunday, the Senators once again surrendered seven goals in playoff game to the Penguins and find themselves staring elimination square in the face.

Their head coach, Guy Boucher, is now the one coming under some fire for his post-game comments following the blowout loss in Pittsburgh.

“We know they’re a better team. Everybody knows that on the planet,” Boucher said in his post-game press conference on Sunday evening. “They’re the Stanley Cup champions. They’re the best team in the league. That’s no secret.”

Boucher’s comment had a feint ring of Alfredsson’s tone, which has a polarizing effect amongst the fanbase. Some enjoy the blunt honesty, while others perceive the comment to be tantamount to surrendering.

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