OTTAWA — Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk says the Senators have achieved their goal coming into the season by returning to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Now comes the next step, as the Senators open their first-round series against the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes, on Saturday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes (53-22-7) are making their eight straight playoff appearance, while Ottawa is making just its second in a row.
The Senators qualified for the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016-17. They went on to lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games, but the experience was invaluable as they look to go further.
“This year, we’ve got a little bit of that experience and for us, it’s just show everyone what we’re all about, show what we believe and know each other,” said Tkachuk. “We have a great team on our hands. Carolina’s been in this position for the last bunch of years and, I mean, that’s been kind of the team that everybody’s tried to emulate, you know the last couple of years just the way they play and how little they give.”
This marks the first time the Senators and Hurricanes will meet in the post-season. Tkachuk knows the Sens will have their hands full and will need to be at their best.
After a disappointing start in last year’s first playoff game at Toronto where they lost 6-2 and gave up three power-play goals, the Senators know the importance of a strong start Saturday afternoon.
“I think first game last year we were a bit overwhelmed in a sense and it kind of showed,” said forwardShane Pinto. “I think this year we’ll have a good mindset going into that first game. We’re excited for it and, yeah, just ready to get going.”
Head coach Travis Green has spoken about his team’s desire to not only get back to the playoffs, but win. Last year’s experience provided the opportunity to understand just what is needed.
“There’ll be lots that we can look back on from last year and playoff hockey,” said Green. “Those are things that we talked about going into last year’s playoffs, being disciplined, being physical, being hard to play against, but still staying out of the penalty box play a big part of playoff hockey.”
Playing disciplined will be key for the Senators. Carolina had the fourth-best power play in the league, while Ottawa’s penalty kill was ranked 29th.
Carolina had seven players who scored 20-plus goals. Ottawa will need to find a way to contain the Hurricanes’ offence.
“We’ve got to find a way to play hard, but also stay out of the box and, yeah, we kind of preached that all season long,” said forward Tim Stutzle. “That’s the way we want to play, and I think our penalty kill has gotten tremendously better, but it’s going to face a huge challenge against a good Carolina team.”
Ottawa will need to find a way to generate offence. During last year’s playoffs only Tkachuk, Stutzle and Claude Giroux had more than three points. Secondary scoring contributions from the likes of Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens will be key.
In their final push to earn a playoff berth the Senators were also getting offence from their defence.
Jake Sanderson, who finished fifth in team scoring, Thomas Chabot and Jordan Spence, who elevated his game significantly in the past two months, will need to continue to contribute.
Sanderson not only brings last year’s playoff experience but having played for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the recent Olympic games, where the Americans beat Canada in the gold-medal game.
The Senators head into the playoffs having won six of their last eight (6-1-1).
Much of the Senators success after the Olympic break came from how well goaltender Linus Ullmark played. Since returning from a leave of absence Ullmark posted a 14-4-3 record with a .904 save percentage.
Goaltending could be the determining factor between the two teams.
Carolina hasn’t shared whether Brandon Bussi or Frederik Andersen will get the start in Game 1.
Since March 1, Andersen is 8-4-0 and Bussi is 7-3-1.
Green is confident in Ullmark and what he can provide the team.
“I’ve said it countless times in this room that I’ve got a lot of belief in our goaltending, even when they were going through a hard stretch,” Green said. “That hasn’t changed, nor should it. Linus has played great since he’s come back and as far as how that’s just a goalie has to play well.”
TALE OF THE TAPE:
Regular-season series: Carolina 2-1-0, Ottawa 1-2-0
Goals for per game: Ottawa, 278 (8th); Carolina 296 (2nd)
Top points: Ottawa, Tim Stutzle, 83; Carolina, Sebastian Aho, 80
Goaltenders: Ottawa, Linus Ullmark, 28-12-8, 2.73 GAA, .891 save percentage/James Reimer 7-4-2, 2.42, .886 ; Carolina, Brandon Bussi, 31-6-2, 2.47, .895/Frederik Andersen, 16-14-5, 3.05, .874; Pyotr Kochetkov 6-2-0, 2.33, .899
Power play: Ottawa, 24.0 (8th); Carolina, 24.9 (4th)
Penalty kill: Ottawa, 75.7 (29th); Carolina, 80.5 (11th)
The big stat: Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens scored a combined 26 power-play goals; Andrei Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers totalled 22 for the Hurricanes
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2026.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press
