The Ottawa Senators aren’t looking too bad in the NHL Standings here at midseason, and they could climb even higher should a few players bring that A-Game I mentioned a couple days back.
While points matter more than anything else, we can also check out how well the Senators are faring compared to the rest of the NHL if we measured them by other metrics. And one that jumped out at me was ‘goals against.’
Sure, the Sens have some work to do when it comes to scoring goals. But let’s slow down a little and check out just how effective they’ve been in preventing other teams from getting pucks past them.
Where do the Ottawa Senators stand in goals against?
No, the Sens aren’t the top team in the NHL in this category by a long shot. Yet, anyway. But, they’re also nowhere near the bottom, even if they haven’t been among the best defensive teams in hockey since Linus Ullmark’s injury. Anyway, let’s check out the standings.
- Los Angeles Kings - 95
- Dallas Stars - 99
- Tampa Bay Lightning - 106
- Winnipeg Jets - 106
- Vegas Golden Knights - 106
- Washington Capitals - 107
- Edmonton Oilers - 109
- New Jersey Devils - 109
- Minnesota Wild - 109
- Ottawa Senators - 113
- Carolina Hurricanes - 115
- Toronto Maple Leafs - 115
- Anaheim Ducks - 120
- Utah Hockey Club - 120
- Calgary Flames - 121
- New York Islanders - 127
- Vancouver Canucks - 127
- Nashville Predators - 128
- Seattle Kraken - 128
- New York Rangers - 128
- Detroit Red Wings - 128
- Florida Panthers - 128
- St. Louis Blues - 129
- Colorado Avalanche - 133
- Montreal Canadiens - 135
- Boston Bruins - 135
- Chicago Blackhawks - 138
- Buffalo Sabres - 139
- Philadelphia Flyers - 145
- Columbus Blue Jackets - 148
- San Jose Sharks - 149
- Pittsburgh Penguins - 152
As you can see, the Sens rank 10th in the league right now, and it’s a testament to what their overall defensive play and play in the crease has been throughout this thrilling 2024-25 season. As mentioned, the Sens need to get back on track once Ullmark returns to the net to hold that ranking, but it nevertheless shows us that this team is closer to contention thanks to their improved play.
If they can get back to playing so well in the crease once Ullmark returns AND they pick it up some offensively, there’s a good chance the Sens will be serious playoff contenders in the latter half of March and in the first half of April.
They can kickstart that trend tonight when the Buffalo Sabres come to town. Buffalo has been out of sorts all season, as the standings above show us. So, maybe the Sens can add to the Blue and Gold’s misery that’s been going on for the last 14 seasons.