SERIES PREVIEW: Ottawa Senators Must Weather The Storm Against Carolina Hurricanes
- Tanner Reil
- Apr 18
- 4 min read
The Ottawa Senators will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
While this Senators core got their first taste of Playoff hockey against the Toronto Maple Leafs one year ago, an experienced Carolina group presents an entirely different challenge. One they will have to surge to overcome.
The Hurricanes are a team that simply does not lose in the first round. The last time they did was the 2000-01 Playoffs to the New Jersey Devils.
The 2025 postseason marked the seventh consecutive year the Hurricanes won at least one playoff round, but did not make it to the Stanley Cup Final. No other team in NHL, NFL, NBA or MLB history has ever done that in more than five consecutive seasons.
Normally winning a conference means you face a weaker team in the first round. But Ottawa will be no cakewalk for Carolina. And on the inverse, the Hurricanes present the toughest potential matchup for the Senators.
This is our preview for round one, the first time these two franchises have ever met in the postseason.
BY THE NUMBERS
Team | PP% | PK% | GF/G | GA/G | CF% | GF% | SV% | SH% | FOW% |
Hurricanes | 24.9 (4) | 80.5 (11) | 3.55 (2) | 2.88 (7) | 59.78 (1) | 53.49 (8) | .895 (26) | 8.89 (24) | 50.1 (16) |
Senators | 24.0 (8) | 75.7 (29) | 3.35 (8) | 2.99 (13) | 52.85 (5) | 53.49 (8) | .893 (27) | 9.96 (12) | 54.5 (1) |
Stylistically, the Hurricanes are basically a more polished version of the Senators with a lot more playoff experience.
The Hurricanes went 2-1-0 over the Senators during the regular season. Ottawa's early season goaltending woes were a factor in the first two games, and the Senators outshot the Hurricanes with a combined 95 to Carolina's 74.
The Hurricanes were never really in danger of missing the playoffs as they cruised to 113 points and won the Eastern Conference, finishing 15 ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins to take the Metropolitan Division.
Meanwhile, the Senators dealt with the worst goaltending numbers in the league and a lot of outside noise early in the season and looked well and truly out of it in mid-January.
Yet, they surged after the Olympic break with a 16-5-3 record (3rd best in NHL) and snagged the final wild card spot in the East. That's despite missing top defencemen Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot down the stretch.
GOALTENDING
The biggest question both of these teams are facing going into round one are likely one in the same.
Ottawa boasted the league's worst goaltending statistics for much of the regular season. The numbers were ugly and the biggest reason the Senators were out of a playoff spot until March.
Post-Olympics is when things really started to turn, as Linus Ullmark went 12-4-3 with a .902 SV% and 2.51 GAA. The Senators have to hope that he's coming back into form at just the right time.
However, the 32-year-old Swede has struggled throughout his career during the postseason. He has a 5-10-0 record with a combined .885 SV% and 3.28 GAA. The Senators will need better than that if they hope to advance past round one.
Meanwhile in Carolina, it's more a question of who their playoff starter should be. Brandon Bussi began the season as the No. 3 guy, but a 23-3-1 record earned him a contract extension and he looked to be a legitimate NHL starter.
However, unlike Ullmark, he struggled after the Olympic break as his save percentage fell to a .865 by the campaign's end.
Frederick Andersen's .874 SV% doesn't look significantly better, but his 85 games worth of playoff experience do. Pyotr Kochetkov, who has just recovered from injury, may also work his way into the conversation should the Canes stumble out of the gate.
X-FACTOR MATCHUPS
Seth Jarvis | Tim Stützle
Each 2020 draftee had four points (three goals, one assist) in the three games the two teams faced off in this season. Which one can be the clutch performer their team needs?
Nikolaj Ehlers | Drake Batherson
These wingers both recorded career-high seasons with 71 points each, but can they perform in the playoffs?
Sebastian Aho | Shane Pinto
One is an established Selke Trophy-level Centre, the other is knocking on the door of reaching that status.
Jaccob Slavin | Jake Sanderson
Two Olympic Gold Medal teammates and elite defensemen. If the Norris Trophy was awarded for defensive play, Slavin would have multiple. Sanderson has more offense to his game and is ready for his coming out party.
Rod Brind'Amour | Travis Green
Brind'Amour has taken Carolina to multiple conference finals, while Green has completely changed the identity of the Senators, with a style of play that closely resembles the Hurricanes.
Who will win the series?
Carolina Hurricanes
Ottawa Senators
Catch the Pregame Show one hour before puck drop of game one, as Lee Versage and Tanner Reil break the series down further: https://www.youtube.com/@thisisosn/streams
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