The Ottawa Senators will hit the ice again on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Center in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The game, with the Sens down 2-0 in the series, is a must-win.
While the matchup is not an elimination game, it certainly feels like it. A win on Thursday night pulls the Sens back into the series. A 2-1 deficit hardly seems as insurmountable as a 3-0 hole would.
That’s why the pressure will be on to pull out a key victory. It’s certainly possible for anyone paying attention in the series. The Senators have hardly been outplayed. They’ve been in both games, with Game 2 ending in heartbreaking fashion.
That said, Ottawa has a chance to get back into this series. They could easily be up 2-0 instead of down. But those are the breaks in playoff hockey. An unlucky bounce during a regular-season game in November does not reverberate the same way a playoff loss does.
That’s in the past now. The key for the Senators is to continue their grinding game, one that seems to match up against the Hurricanes very well. Both sides seem locked in a war of attrition, one that the Senators could win if they hold on long enough.
Resilience key for Senators in comeback bid
Resilience has seemed like a common theme throughout this season for the Ottawa Senators. The club has faced individual and collective adversity. And it has pulled through. The team’s unity and tenacity have been key factors in getting through tough times this season.
Those key factors, plus fabulous goaltending from Linus Ullmark, could be the deciding factors in the Senators’ bid to get back into this series.
Overall, it seems like the Senators are about to break through. Game 3 offers that opportunity, playing at home. The team doesn’t really need to do much more than it’s already doing. A couple of lucky bounces and the series could change dramatically once it hopefully returns to Raleigh.
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