Five Reasons Why the Ottawa Senators Will Make the Playoffs

The Ottawa Senators had a roller coaster 2022-2023 season. The first half offered little to suggest that the club was playoff-ready. But then something happened starting in late January. Ottawa got hot, winning enough games to make their February and March highly engaging. Ultimately, they fell just six points shy of a postseason berth. We can expect that to change this year, with the Ottawa Senators getting over the hump and becoming playoff participants for the first time since 2017.

Check out our NHL odds for plenty of hockey action as the season is just around the corner.

1. Tkachuk, Stutzle, Tarasenko Firepower

One thing that definitely wasn’t lacking in the Nation’s Capital last season and was players with firepower. Brady Tkachuk (35), Tim Stutlze (39), Claude Giroux (35), and Alex DeBrincat (27) all scored over or almost 30 goals. Incidentally, the only one of the quartet who netted fewer than 30, DeBrincat, has gone off to Detroit.

He has been replaced by former Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko, who spent barely half a season with the New York Rangers after a deadline trade that removed him from St. Louis. His 2022-2023 wasn’t stellar, but the last time he scored at least 30 was only two seasons ago, his last full campaign in a Blues jersey, during which he netted 34 times.

Could the offence be more evenly distributed? Yes. For all the goals those four aforementioned players scored (five with newcomer Tarasenko), Ottawa was only 18^th in goals per game with 3.16, although a bounce here and a rebound there and they’d have at least been in the top half of the league.

If the team is awarded enough powerplays, they make their opponents pay the price. The Senators were eighth in the NHL last season with an efficiency rate of 23.5 per cent.

2. Options in Net

This one might read a bit strangely, but the fact that Ottawa has so many options in net can be tremendously positive. Of course, it would help if the goalies on the roster remained healthy.

Last season felt like a goaltender carousel at times, with Anton Forsberg, Mads Sogaard, and Cam Talbot exchanging the role of number one, with a few other names in the mix to boot. Talbot is no longer on the roster, replaced by former Blue Jackets netminder Joonas Korpisalo, who obviously the club wants as its true number one. We would be remiss by forgetting that Korpisalo was the keeper when the Jackets went on a surprising playoff run just a few seasons ago and was the main guy last year with the Los Angeles Kings.

3. Defence Wins Championships

Ottawa was in the top half of the NHL last season in shots allowed (14^th). Even so, the franchise opted to spruce up its blue line. For example, in exchange for DeBrincat, the Red Wings sent prospect defenceman Donovan Sebrango – in addition to centre Dominik Kubalik.

Due to various trades, the Senators waited until the fourth round this past summer to make a selection at the NHL Draft. Once their turn finally arrived, they went for Hoyt Stanley, a defenceman for the Victoria Grizzlies. In the subsequent round, they opted for Kitchener Ranger Matthew Andonovksi, another blue liner.

The club seems to know it will be able to score goals. They’ve also acquired a netminder who can get them more quality starts. Bolstering a defence that was decent to begin with may prove to be a critical piece of the puzzle.

4. Stability with New Ownership

Winning sides are based not only on good rosters. Those good rosters need to come from somewhere. Coaches – D.J. Smith in this case – and general managers have most of the say in those matters, but dependable ownership does as well. Ultimately, having the backing of an owner with a vision who collaborates with specialists like a GM and the coach can make all the difference in the world.

That’s why there is a sense of relief that the ownership saga in Ottawa is now complete. Michael Andlauer, the Toronto-based entrepreneur finally got the keys to the castle in late September after a whirlwind 2023 during which several noteworthy names made headlines (Deadpool himself, anyone?).

5. Hunger

This one isn’t difficult to understand. It’s also deceptively simple. All 32 NHL clubs are hungry to win games, that much should be obvious.

In the case of the Senators, it does feel like a case of unfinished business. They went on such a tear during the winter and early spring, that to have missed their objective of earning a playoff spot by so few points will surely spark a fire in their belly.

This is an all-around solid hockey team that doesn’t need to do too much more, or even change all that much. They’re almost there. More discipline (they were the most penalized team in the NHL last season), slightly more dependable goaltending, and a better distribution of the offence should get the job done.