The Ottawa Senators are looking to make some noise when the NHL playoffs begin on Saturday.
Ottawa clinched their second straight playoff appearance last Saturday and are battling for positioning as they prepare for their regular-season finale on Wednesday.
The Senators ended a seven-year playoff drought last season when they secured a wild-card position. They took on their rival Toronto Maple Leafs first round, who defeated them in six games.
This season, the Senators are looking to use what they’ve learned from their experience last year to hopefully take a step forward.
“I don’t think you can ever be prepped fully for NHL playoff hockey,” Senators coach Travis Green told TSN1200 on Wednesday. “It’s a step up as far as intensity level goes, and the style of play changes a bit. You’ve got to actually live it go through it.
“We did it last year and I’m hoping that it’ll help this this year.”
Ottawa has had a wild ride in their quest to return to the playoffs. They were sitting tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with a 20-19-5 record on Jan. 12 with the playoffs seemingly out of reach.
Starting netminder Linus Ullmark was out of the lineup for personal reasons and injuries had been piling up.
The Senators then had a convincing 7-1 victory over the current Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 25 and used that as a springboard to go 20-6-4 into April, cruising to a wild-card spot.
For Green, the team’s winning ways are a product of the players believing in their process and systems they have already built, as well as in each other.
“In this case, we truly believed that we just needed to stick with it, and good things are going to happen,” said Green. “Sometimes the best answer and easiest answer is the honest one. There were three things we talked about as a group. One, we need to play and we need to play well. Two, we need to believe in what we’re doing, believe in our game, and believe in each other. And three, we need to be good teammates and give ourselves full credit.
“They did that when it was easy not to play well and not to believe. They did it when it was easy not to be a good teammate and start pointing fingers. That’s a big part of winning.”
As part of the journey to the playoffs, the Senators have had to overcome some major injury problems. Captain Brady Tkachuk, defenceman Thomas Chabot, and Ullmark have all missed significant time.
Defencemen Tyler Kleven and Nick Jensen have also missed games heading into the postseason while there are more questions about Tkachuk’s health after he left Saturday’s 3-0 win over the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury.
However, Green isn’t worried about Tkachuk’s status and also says help is on the way on the blueline.
“I ran into [Tkachuk] this morning. He looks good and he’s skating [on Wednesday],” said Green. “[We’re] very hopeful that Kleven will be available in the first round. He’s a big part of our defence corps, especially the way he plays in playoff hockey. He’s built for that. He’s going to skate [on Wednesday], which is a great sign and I’m hopeful we’ll see him.”
Ottawa is one point back of the Boston Bruins for the first wild-card position with one game left to play against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. They will either take on the East-leading Carolina Hurricanes or Atlantic Division-champion Buffalo Sabres in the first round.
Buffalo is making their first playoff appearance since the 2010-11 campaign, while this will be the Hurricanes’ eighth-straight playoff appearance and. Carolina is looking to get over the hump and make the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2005-06.
“They’ve both had phenomenal seasons and both great teams,” said Green. “One team has been knocking on the door [to the Stanley Cup Final] for a long time, played a lot of playoff hockey, and a lot of meaningful games. The other team’s an up-and-coming team that’s been built through the draft and has a lot of offensive power in their group.”
“They are two really good hockey teams that are going to be a real tough challenge. We got a lot of respect for them. Of course, everyone says that, but it’s the truth.”
