A power outage hit Sens Mile during Game 7, but Ottawa firefighters saved the day with a generator

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It was a potential disaster for one of the biggest bars on Sens Mile.

Bad weather brought down power lines in downtown Ottawa shortly after 7 p.m. — and just before a massive Game 7 between the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins was about to start.

Most bars, fortunately, escaped the outage. But one of them, The Lieutenant’s Pump, had 300 fans in it ready to watch the game when the power went out.

“People were coming in since 4 p.m. to grab seats. People were happy. This is Game 7,” assistant manager Carina Salgado said. “We were full staff, pumping food, pumping drinks, and then, boom.”

Bar staff had to kick into high gear as patrons started filing out onto Elgin Street.

“We had to rush, bill everybody, smile, make people understand what was going on,” Salgado said.

But then Ottawa firefighters saved the day.

They hooked the Pump up with a generator, which chugged outside the bar and powered a single TV inside.

About 40 people huddled in one room of the expansive bar watching the game. At one point, the TV shut off, prompting people to quip, “Put more gas in the TV!”

Salgado was appreciative of firefighters stopping by the bar.

“These lovely guys were so nice and helpful and they were able to hook us up with a TV in there and a backup generator,” she said. “Can you believe it?”

Meanwhile, wires were strewn across the sidewalk on Cartier Street, just south of Somerset Street. There was also a wire down on MacLaren Street, forcing the closure of the street between Cartier and Elgin streets while hydro crews worked to restore power.

Bars and restaurants on the Sens Mile were absolutely jammed with people watching the game. There was a long line outside of Maclarens during the first period.

Even people slurping ramen at a restaurant were glued to the TVs.

At the Sir John A Pub, some patrons sat under umbrellas on the patio watching the outdoor TV.

The rain scuttled bars’ chances to make a bit more money having their patios open.

Ottawa police were heavily staffed on Elgin Street.

Meanwhile, repair work continued through the night, as Hydro Ottawa crews tracked down stubborn breaks.

Power was fully restored by breakfast.