At the conclusion of the 1914–15 season, the Senators and Wanderers finished with identical records of fourteen wins and six losses. A two-game, total goal series was played to determine the NHA league champion who would contest the Stanley Cup with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association winner, the Vancouver Millionaires. Ross, who finished with three goals in sixteen games in the season, scored one goal in the first match against the Wanderers, a Senators 4–0 victory, and though Ottawa lost the second game 1–0, they won the series, 4–1. To help the Senators stop the Wanderers, who were known for their speed, Ross created a new system of defence. Termed "kitty bar the door", it required three defenders to align themselves across the ice 30 feet in front of the goaltender to stop offensive rushes. This style of defence would later be used in a modified version known as the neutral zone trap, later used widely to stop opposition offensive chances.