Sens just two points back of freefalling Panthers for third in Atlantic
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For most of the season, the main talking point surrounding the Ottawa Senators has been their chase for a playoff spot.
Ottawa has not made the postseason since coming within one win of the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, and didn’t finish higher than sixth in the Atlantic Division in the years since. But simply making the playoffs isn’t as much of a storyline now with Ottawa having all but locked up a spot with a week and a half left in the regular season. For the first time in a long time, Sens fans are turning their attention to seeding and potential first-round matchups.
The Senators have won three straight games and currently occupy the East's top wild-card spot with 90 points. The recent surge puts them only two points back of a Florida Panthers team headed in the opposite direction for third in the Atlantic.
While the Sens have gone 6-3-1 in their past 10, the Panthers are 3-6-1 and are in the midst of a three-game skid. Ottawa picked up a 3-0 victory over Florida on Saturday and then defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 Sunday, giving them two huge wins in a 24-hour span.
Much of Ottawa’s success lately has been their defensive play. They only allowed one goal during their three-game win streak, with Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg both picking up shutouts. Ullmark chalked up their increased stinginess to being more poised.
“Lately we haven’t made as many immature mistakes. We don’t force plays as much as we did earlier in the season, and we take what’s there. If there’s no play we chip it out and live to fight another day," the netminder said Sunday. "Those are the things we are doing a better job at.”
Ottawa has allowed the 10th fewest goals in the league this season and now own a plus-seven goal differential.
“Commitment to checking. Good goaltending. You don’t get [wins] without both of those. It’s nice to see. At the end of the day everyone in this league wants a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The first step is you have to make the playoffs to have a chance," head coach Travis Green said Sunday. "Our group is hungry to have the chance."
On the flip side, the Panthers lost two games over the weekend, but did so shorthanded. The defending Stanley Cup champions played Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings without their four leading scorers as Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov continue to recover from their respective injuries while forwards Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart were rested in preparation for the postseason.
“You want every advantage you can get, home ice and all that, but we’ve got to heal these guys,” head coach Paul Maurice said via NHL.com. “We have to give ourselves a chance to play physically in the playoffs, and our schedule won’t allow that right now.”
As things currently stand, the Senators would draw the Atlantic-leading Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round, leaving the Panthers with a first-round Sunshine State series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Current Eastern Conference playoff matchups (standings as of April 6):
Washington (107) vs. Montreal (85)
Toronto (98) vs. Ottawa (90)
Tampa Bay (94) vs. Florida (92)
Carolina (96) vs. New Jersey (89)
Blues continue to stay hot
While the Senators’ late-season surge putting them on the cusp of the playoffs has been impressive, no team in the league has been playing as well as the St. Louis Blues lately.
The Blues set a franchise record with their 12th straight victory Saturday, surpassing the team’s mark of 11 straight from their Stanley Cup winning season in 2018-19. They have outscored opponents 51-22 during the streak, which began all the way back on March 15 against the Minnesota Wild.
“I am proud of that group in there to be able to overcome all of the adversity that we’ve had this year,” Blues head coach Jim Montgomery said Sunday via The Athletic.
“Whether that was self-inflicted by us, it doesn’t matter, we’ve overcome it. I’m proud of that group for what they’ve achieved.”
Their improved play has them in the first wild-card spot and on the precipice of a playoff spot, leading the Calgary Flames by eight points entering play Monday. As of right now, St. Louis would draw the Vegas Golden Knights in the opening round of the playoffs.
Current Western Conference playoff matchups (as of April 6):
Winnipeg (108) vs. Minnesota (91)
Vegas (102) vs. St. Louis (93)
Dallas (105) vs. Colorado (98)
Los Angeles (97) vs. Edmonton (93)