The Ottawa Senators entered a must-win matchup against division rivals, the Florida Panthers, with their season on the line on Thursday night. The Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders, and Detroit Red Wings also played, looking to catch the Sens for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Islanders and Red Wings did their part. The Islanders defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3, and the Red Wings pulled out a gutsy 6-3 win.
That’s why the Senators’ 5-1 rout of the Panthers could have saved their season. The two points kept the Islanders and Red Wings at arm’s length. Ottawa remains three points up for the final wild card spot.
The Sens, led by Fabian Zetterlund’s pair of goals, played one of their best games of the year. The club showed a solid defensive structure, allowing its gritty forechecking to do the rest.
The battered Panthers, clearly dealing with the aftermath of injuries and three-straight Stanley Cup runs, could not keep up. The much younger and inspired Senators club held the line. The performance bodes well moving forward, as the Senators would most likely get the Eastern Conference’s top seed in the first round of the 2026 NHL playoffs.
Senators got major boost from Chabot return
Thomas Chabot returned to the ice on Thursday night, two weeks after sustaining a broken arm. Chabot’s remarkable recovery gave the Senators a major boost. Chabot, who’s one of the NHL’s best two-way blueliners, instantly elevated the club’s blue line.
The Senators are all of a sudden now in a hot streak. They’ve won three in a row and have gotten their two best blue liners back from injury at the right time. Jake Sanderson, who had missed some time earlier this month, returned over the weekend.
Chabot and Sanderson will be key as the Sens look to win out the remainder of the regular season. They’re two points behind the Boston Bruins for the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. There’s a very good chance the Sens could catch the Bruins.
If that’s the case, the Sens might be able to leapfrog into that first wild-card spot. The Bruins have lost four in a row. So, with the Bruins reeling and the Senators heating up, it might just be the perfect time for the Sens to make an unexpected climb up the Atlantic Division standings.