Staios: Playoffs are 'the ultimate goal' for Senators

With wins in six of their last seven games, the Ottawa Senators have charged into a playoff spot in the final quarter of the season.

Holding on to that spot and earning their first Stanley Cup Playoffs berth in seven years is the focus now for the team and general manager Steve Staios.

"That's the ultimate goal for this group," Staios said at the NHL GM meetings on Wednesday. "But there's so much hockey yet to be played. The standings are so tight. There's so many quality teams in and around us that we want to stay focused."

The Senators saw their six-game winning streak snapped with a 6-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday - a streak that included wins against opponents firmly in the playoff race in the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.

Winning tough games down the stretch was a challenge for the team in the 2022-23 campaign, the last time Ottawa was competitive for a playoff spot in the final month of the season.

The Senators sat four points out of a playoff spot after a win on March 9 that season, but mustered only six wins in their final 18 games to finish a distant 11th in the Eastern Conference.

Many of the key contributors on this version of the Senators were central to that team as well, and Staios wants to avoid a similar fate unfolding.

"I think [making the playoffs is] what they're focused on, rather than looking at what it means to be in the playoffs. We're not there yet," Staios said.

"I think it's hugely important for us to keep the mindset on where it's at, and I was interested to see how they would be able to handle this time of the year, and we'll continually grow as a group."

Trade deadline acquisitions helping bolster Sens' playoff push

The six-game win streak coincided with the NHL trade deadline earlier in March, where the Senators were active in acquiring new faces up and down the lineup.

"I'm proud of the group, the players, the commitment that they've shown," Staios said. "It kind of led to the deadline, looking to try and do something to help this group, because they've shown that they've taken a step."

Staios swung a deal with the San Jose Sharks to acquire forward Fabian Zetterlund, but the biggest return so far has come from the trade that sent Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker to the Buffalo Sabres for Dylan Cozens and Dennis Gilbert.

“Losing not just the player, but the person,” said captain Brady Tkachuk after the trade was announced, fighting back tears. “[Norris] was the No. 1 guy that I’d go to with anything, not just playing but anything outside of hockey that we were always there for one another.”

Cozens has delivered in a big way in six games with the Senators, with two goals and five points. Staios was aware of how the trade might impact the team, but he's encouraged by the early results.

"When you look at our group and you look at our center-ice position and what I had to give up to get [Cozens], it changes the profile, really," Staios said. 

"[Tim] Stutzle's a dynamic offensive player. Dylan's shown that he's able to create offence. He's also a big body (at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds), and he plays the game the right way. He's heavy ... with Shane Pinto in the mix, with those three centremen, I really like where we're at with that."

Waiting on Zetterlund to get up to speed

While Cozens has played well out of the gate for the Senators, Zetterlund - who had 17 goals and 36 points in 64 games with the Sharks - has yet to produce a point in his five games with Ottawa.

"I think that he's going to continue to get opportunity," Staios said. "It's a bit of a challenge for a player to come into a system and really feel comfortable with it, what our coaching staff wants from him. He's fully capable of doing it. I think it's just a little bit of a comfort level and a matter of time."

What Zetterlund does provide, though, is another physical presence in the lineup. His 126 hits this season ranks third on the team behind Tkachuk (211) and Cozens (174) - something Staios loves to see.

"That's the identity," Staios said. "I think we can be proud of that, teams knowing that it's going to be a tough night against us, and that goes with the commitment from the players and playing that way, because it's hard. It's a challenge every night to be able to do it."

"I felt compelled going into deadline watching our team bring that consistent effort. We're not perfect. We went through some dips. But man, I was proud of the step that they took having that identity being hard to play against. I was looking at everything I could do to make sure that I could add to that this opportunity at the deadline."

Ottawa plays only six of their final 15 games against teams currently holding a playoff spot, meaning they should have an inside track towards their first playoff berth since losing in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017.

Staios is looking for the team to continue to develop good habits for playoff hockey down the stretch.

"Just the consistent effort," he said. "I think the checking in particular. I think when we're on our game, we really skate, and we check. We check hard. And that's been a great step forward for our group as a whole but also as individuals. You can look at Brady's game and Tim's game, and the maturity over one year has been incredible. Just consistently being that hard team to play against."