Was that the Sens' most improbable playoff win ever? A day after Jean-Gabriel Pageau's four-goal heroics in the Ottawa Senators' comeback double-overtime win over the New York Rangers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semi-final, Ian Mendes looks at where the victory ranks among other improbable Senators' comebacks.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s four-goal performance on Saturday afternoon was one for the ages.

The Senators centre scored twice in the game’s final four minutes to tie the game and then scored the winner himself in double-overtime. That was clearly the most impressive individual performance by a Senators player in franchise history.

But was the Game 2 win over the New York Rangers also the most improbable in Ottawa’s playoff history? The Senators were counted out by most experts in that game, trailing by two goals with less than four minutes to go in regulation time.

And while it was certainly a comeback of epic proportions, it still doesn’t rank as the most improbable playoff win in Ottawa history.

Here’s a look at the top playoff games in which Ottawa fans had given up all reasonable hope – only to see their team rally back and win. They’re ranked in order to culminate with the most unlikely and improbable comeback in Senators playoff history.

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8. Senators 3-2 win over Rangers – Game 2 ECQF, 2012

This game is mostly remembered for its start, rather than the finish, as Matt Carkner jumped Brian Boyle early in the contest as an act of retaliation for what the Rangers forward did to Erik Karlsson in the opener. But the Rangers were less than five minutes away from winning this game and Ottawa’s chances seemed slim after they lost Daniel Alfredsson when he was elbowed in the head by Carl Hagelin in the third period. But even without their captain, the Senators managed to find a way to win this game. First, it was Nick Foligno scoring the tying goal with only 4:37 left in regulation time. And then it was the unlikely combination of Chris Neil and Jared Cowen teaming up for the overtime winner, as the Sens forward picked up a rebound from a point shot and shoveled it past Henrik Lundqvist at the 1:17 mark.

7. Senators 4-3 win over Bruins – Game 2 ECQF, 2017

The Senators had one of their most memorable comebacks just a couple of weeks ago, as they were trailing 3-1 in the third period of Game 2 against the Boston Bruins. The Senators – who were already trailing 1-0 in the series – looked completely sloppy and unnerved in allowing the Bruins to take a two-goal lead in the second period. But they tied the game in the third period in the span of 2:20 – capped by an all-world play from Erik Karlsson to set up Derick Brassard. Dion Phaneuf scored early in overtime to cap the victory, which helped propel Ottawa to a six-game series win over Boston.

6. Senators 4-3 win over Penguins – Game 5 ECQF, 2010

The Penguins had a chance to close out the Senators on home ice and seemed to be headed in that direction when Sidney Crosby scored the go-ahead goal at the 9:10 mark of the third period. But then, Peter Regin – who was Ottawa’s best forward in that series – produced a surprising game-tying response less than 90 seconds later. After those two quick goals, neither team would score for almost 60 minutes of game action, until Matt Carkner broke the stalemate with a triple-overtime winner. Pascal Leclaire deserves just as much credit for the victory as he made 56 saves in the victory – which was made all the more impressive by the fact it was his first start of the Stanley Cup playoffs that spring.

5. Senators 4-3 win over Sabres – Game 2 ECF, 2007

The Sabres stormed out of the gates in this game, scoring two goals in the opening six minutes and taking all of the momentum. But the Senators fought back with three consecutive goals to take a 3-2 lead late into the third period. Ottawa had never taken a 2-0 series lead in franchise history and were on the verge of doing just that when Daniel Briere tied the game with only six seconds to play, forcing overtime. That turn of events was all too familiar for Senators fans, who watched the Sabres pull off late-game heroics time and time again on a consistent basis in their five-game loss to Buffalo the previous spring. But this game turned out differently for Ottawa as Jason Spezza cleanly won a faceoff in double-overtime and sent the puck back to Joe Corvo at the point. The Sens defenceman sent a skipping, knuckling puck towards the net that managed to bounce past Ryan Miller for the winning goal – giving the Senators their first 2-0 series lead in franchise history.

4. Senators 2-1 win over Maple Leafs – Game 6 ECQF, 2004

At this point in the Battle of Ontario, Senators fans had come to expect the worst. So when the Maple Leafs scored on a 5-on-3 power play to open the scoring in the first period, most Ottawa fans figured their fate was sealed. The Senators were staring elimination square in the face and could not solve Ed Belfour. The Leafs netminder had shutout the Sens in Game 5 of the series and he was perfect through the first two periods in Game 6. But then it was Zdeno Chara who broke Ottawa’s 100-plus-minute goal drought by scoring a wraparound goal on Belfour in the third period. And in double-overtime, it was Mike Fisher who provided the heroics with a tap-in goal from on a beautiful setup from Antoine Vermette.

3. Senators 6-5 win over Rangers – Game 2 ECSF, 2017

Although it was a strange and unpredictable afternoon with goals being scored from all sorts of weird spots, the Rangers appeared to be in complete control with a 5-3 lead and less than four minutes to play in Game 2. But then Jean-Gabriel Pageau went to work, scoring two goals in a span of 2:17 to tie the game. And the Sens' spark plug wasn’t done there, as he added the winner in double-overtime – becoming only the second player in NHL playoff history to have a four-goal game including an overtime winner. This marked the first time in Senators' playoff history that they won a game in which the opponent scored five goals. While recency bias probably has this game at No. 1 for a lot of Ottawa fans, this one didn’t make the top of the list because the free-flowing, wild nature of the game almost seemed to invite a nutty comeback. The top two games on this list were situations where the Senators were being shut out in air-tight defensive games in the third period – only to provide dramatic, late-game heroics.

2. Senators 3-2 win over Canadiens – Game 4 ECQF, 2013

The Senators were trailing 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to go in the third period of Game 4 and they really had nothing going offensively against Carey Price and the Canadiens. But with 8:05 left in the game, Mika Zibanejad scored a controversial goal with his skate blade that gave the Senators new life. Then with only 23 seconds left in the game, Cory Conacher – who was only on the ice because Paul MacLean was playing a hunch – slammed a rebound past Price in a wild scramble in front of the Canadiens netminder to tie the game. As time expired in regulation, Zibanejad fired one last puck at Carey Price – and the Habs netminder made an awkward save and appeared to injure himself. Peter Budaj led the Canadiens out for the start of overtime and the backup goalie looked extremely rusty, as he allowed a soft wrister from Kyle Turris to beat him just 2:32 into the extra frame.

1. Senators 2-1 win over Penguins - Game 3 ECSF, 2013

The Senators were trailing 1-0 and on the verge of falling behind 3-0 in the series against Pittsburgh with less than two minutes left in regulation time. Erik Karlsson took a slashing penalty with 1:27 remaining in the contest, which should have allowed the Penguins to simply run out the clock with the man advantage. At that point, even the most dedicated Senators fan had to concede this game was pretty much over. But then miraculously, the Senators had one rush with the puck as the clock was winding down under 30 seconds. Milan Michalek threaded perfect pass to Daniel Alfredsson, who was able to stroll unchecked into the slot in front of Tomas Vokoun. The Sens captain deftly redirected the puck past the Pens netminder for the short-handed tying goal, sending the Ottawa crowd into a frenzy. Colin Greening would then end the game more than an hour later, by scoring at the midway point of double-overtime. Often forgotten in that game are the heroics of Craig Anderson, who stopped 49 of 50 shots he faced from the Penguins. With the win, the Senators became the first team in NHL playoff history to win two playoff games in in the same year in which they tied the contest in the final minute of regulation and then won it in overtime.