Senators' most critical part of 2024-25 schedule in Winter can make-or-break season

The Ottawa Senators will seek to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017. Despite having a dark cloud over the franchise for the past seven years, trading for superstar goaltender Linus Ullmark, and having their young, talented duo of Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk, Senators fans have new hope.

However, despite solving goaltending issues, the season must still be played. The Senators will begin their 2024-25 season against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Oct. 10 at Canadian Tire Centre. That is one of the toughest games on the season for the Senators.

But, every season will offer tough parts during the schedule, and it could potentially shape out the season based on where teams are at in the current standings. There is one part that the Senators will have, that can either make-or-break their season not even halfway through the season.

Senators' nine-game road trip in Winter can make-or-break season

The beginning of Ottawa's most critical part of their schedule will begin when the team travels to Seattle on Dec. 17. That is just the first game of a nine-game road trip for the Senators, and it's not an easy road trip.

Ottawa's nine-game road trip:

Dec. 17 @ Seattle Kraken

Dec. 19 @ Calgary Flames

Dec. 21 @ Vancouver Canucks

Dec. 22 @ Edmonton Oilers

Dec. 28 @ Winnipeg Jets

Dec. 29 @ Minnesota Wild

Jan. 2 @ Dallas Stars

Jan. 3 @ St. Louis Blues

Jan. 7 @ Detroit Red Wings

That isn't an easy stretch against those nine teams at all. To make it more difficult, the Senators will play three consecutive back-to-back games during the road trip.

Four games on the schedule are against 2024 playoff teams, and one of those teams is against the defending Western Conference champion Oilers. The Red Wings missed the playoffs by one point, and the other four teams were out of the playoffs in the Western Conference. Against all teams combined, Ottawa went 9-10-1 against the nine teams combined last season. That's simply some bad luck on the schedule.

How is this the most critical part of the stretch? Having a nine-game road trip in the middle of the season isn't easy for any team. If the Senators desire to end their playoff drought, this stretch can drop them in the standings if they lose most of the road trip.

The first game of the road trip is the 31st game of the season. This road trip is around the same time last season when the Senators began a five-game road trip for the team's 33rd game of last season. The Senators lost all five games and dropped to 14-23-0 overall. When the road trip ended, Ottawa dug themselves into a hole they couldn't get out of, and four of those five teams are on the road trip again this season (Canucks, Kraken, Oilers, and Flames).

Ottawa's determination and toughness will be tested during the nine-game road trip. Road trips like that are daunting. But if Ottawa finds itself in a good position in the standings and wins most of those games, it won't set itself back in the standings like it did last season.