Despite Loss, Senators Clinch Playoff Spot!

This certainly wasn’t a good effort by the Ottawa Senators tonight. Without Brady Tkachuk for the fifth straight game and opting to go with backup Anton Forsberg in net, the Senators fell behind the Columbus Blue Jackets early and never recovered. The final score was 5-2 for the Blue Jackets, but that ended up as a side note to the main storyline tonight- the Ottawa Senators are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017! Thanks to the Montreal Canadiens victory over the Detroit Red Wings, the Senators officially clinched a playoff spot. Let’s dive into the details on tonight’s loss, while also celebrating the Senators making the playoffs.

READ MORE: Jake Sanderson Joins Exclusive Group in Senators History

Standouts- Zetterlund and Chabot

There wasn’t a ton of good in this game for the Sens, but the two goal scorers played well. For Fabian Zetterlund, he finally managed to score his first goal as a Senator. It took him 16 games, but it had seemed for a while that he was bound to break the slump. He’s now up to 31 shots, including six tonight. Zetterlund has shown a willingness to go to the net and he has a nice mix of skill and effort. More goals should certainly be coming his way.

As for Chabot, he managed a goal and an assist in just under 26 minutes of ice-time. He was also the only Senators defensemen to be a plus, ending the game at plus one. Chabot has now scored five points in his last three games. His 40 points is the third highest single season total for his career.

Playoff Bound

Alright, let’s go ahead and forget about that sloppy game now. For the first time in eight years, the Ottawa Senators are headed to the playoffs! Their 90 points with four games to go is enough to secure them a spot, with the Eastern Conference pretty well set at this point. The only question mark is the Montreal Canadiens, but they seem like a pretty safe bet with an eight point gap over the next closest teams.

As far as who they’ll play, there are four options.

• If they fall to the second wildcard spot, they’ll play the Washington Capitals
• If not, they’ll play either the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Tampa Bay Lightning, or the Florida Panthers

When the Senators decided to go with a full blown rebuild, the risk was always there to become the next Buffalo Sabres. After a dreadful season a year ago, it was starting to feel like that was exactly what had happened. Instead, Steve Staios brought in veterans from strong organizations and chose Travis Green to lead the way as head coach. From there, goaltending was much improved, as was the team defense. The younger Senators gradually understood the type of two-way play that was necessary to win games. Now, the likes of Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot, and Shane Pinto will all get their first taste of playoff hockey. As I’m sure we all remember, there is truly nothing better than playoff hockey!