Ottawa mayor giving Sens fans ‘permission’ to get out of meetings to watch Game 6

Sens Mile is expected to be rowdy tonight. We are taking the pulse of Elgin Street this morning with Duong Hoang from The Standard!

If you’ve got responsibilities this evening as the puck drops at Canadian Tire Centre for a make-or-break game for the Ottawa Senators, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has a way out.

The Ottawa mayor posted a tongue-in-cheek letter on social media Thursday, giving hockey fans permission to get out of “unnecessary and unimportant meetings” in order to do their “civic duty” of cheering on the Sens.

“I, Mark Sutcliffe, hereby authorize the holder of this letter to miss any meeting or other unnecessary or unimportant meeting or event this evening,” the letter says. “This individual has important business to carry out on behalf of the city tonight, namely, to cheer on the Senators in Game 6. Please do not impede this person from carrying out this important task.”

The Ottawa Senators are trailing the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to two in their first-round playoff series—the first time the Sens have been in the playoffs since 2017. The Leafs took a 3-0 series lead before the Senators managed to claw back two wins, including a 4-0 shutout in Toronto on Tuesday.

Game 6 is at the Canadian Tire Centre. A win would force a deciding Game 7 to see who will go on to the second round.

Fans who do not have tickets to the game are still invited to the arena. The team announced Wednesday that the CIBC Red Zone will include a 14-by-24-foot LED screen in the plaza outside Gate 1 for fans to watch the biggest game in town.

The game starts at 7 p.m.