Hockey fans block traffic on Elgin St. after Team Canada's win at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Ottawa Senators fans are hoping similar festivities will take place on the newly designated Sens Mile during the Stanley Cup playoffs. (Pawel Dwulit/Canadian Press)

A strip of bars, shops and businesses on Ottawa's Elgin Street is getting a new nickname, just in time for the National Hockey League playoff opening game of the hometown Senators.

City council is expected to approve the designation of the stretch of Elgin Street between Nepean Street and Gladstone Avenue as "Sens Mile" on Wednesday, the same day the Ottawa Senators visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 1 of the opening round of their playoff series.

Helping to make the idea a reality was Cameron Bishop, who wanted to bring back the atmosphere that prevailed on the downtown strip during the Stanley Cup finals in 2007 — when thousands of people packed Elgin Street to watch the team take on the Anaheim Ducks.

Bishop canvassed door-to-door to lobby businesses and city hall to support the plan.

Dino Iafelice, the owner of Johnny Farina Restaurant, said the idea gives businesses a chance to show their team colours.

"It creates the hype," said Iafelice. "We've got an NHL team; let's show it off!"

The 800-metre-long stretch of Elgin will have mounted TV screens and be closed to traffic should the Senators advance well into the playoffs.

Like any good sports fan, Bishop remains optimistic about his team's chances.

"I'm feeling pretty good about the team," he said. "I like our odds. I like our chances. I think it's gonna be Sens in six.

"But more importantly than that, I love what [the playoffs] does to the city."