The Ottawa Senators find themselves down 2-0 in their 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff Eastern Conference First Round series to the Carolina Hurricanes. These are the key factors for them to get back into the series. The Ottawa Senators were dealt a tough blow in Game 2 of their first-round series. After nearly two overtime periods, Jordan Martinook scored the game-winning goal. That put the Carolina Hurricanes up 2-0, as the series now moves to Ottawa, Ontario.
Hurricanes and Senators Playoff Series, 2-0 Carolina
This is what the Hurricanes do to their playoff opponents. They have gone up 2-0 in each of their past six first-round series, and that is a new NHL record. Winning four of the next five against this outfit is going to be a tough challenge.
The Senators, however, continue to keep their heads held high. The belief in the room is still very strong that they can come back and win. Although, they will have to start making good on that belief immediately. Going down 3-0 will essentially be curtains on their season. Here’s what they can do to get back in this series.
Capitalizing on Scoring Chances
One thing that certainly can’t be said about the Senators through the first two games is that they haven’t generated enough offence. The Senators have generated 3.7 expected goals per 60 minutes and have a total of 7.5 overall. Part of it has been bad puck luck and part of it has been the stellar play of Frederik Andersen.
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Andersen has stopped all 21 inner-slot shots thrown towards him. However, the Senators can also do a better job of capitalizing on their scoring chances. They’ve hit the net on just 49 percent of their chances, whereas in the regular season, they had a 61 percent clip in that area.
Although Andersen has made plenty of ten bell saves, but he is beatable. Dylan Cozens’ goal on Monday was an example of that. If the Senators can continue to get to the middle of the ice and pressure Andersen with more high-danger chances, they can beat him consistently.
Neutralizing the Stankoven Line
The Hurricanes’ line of Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake has been a real thorn in the side of the Senators. The Hurricanes have outscored the Senators 2-0 and generated 65 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five with that line on the ice.
Head coach Travis Green has relied upon Michael Amadio and Shane Pinto to neutralize the Stankoven line. When matched up against them, the Senators have fared slightly better. They’ve been outscored 1-0 and out-chanced 6-2 in that five-on-five matchup.
Now being at home with the matchup advantage, Green would be wise to stick with that matchup. The goal against wasn’t necessarily their fault either. It came as the result of a turnover by defenceman Jordan Spence from behind the net, which is a cardinal sin to commit against the Hurricanes. In fact, they lead the league in goals within 10 seconds of turnovers in the regular season.
Linus Ullmark Has Been Stellar
One of the biggest questions heading into this series was about Linus Ullmark and how steady he would be in net. One could make the argument he’s been the Senators’ best player through the first two games.
Ullmark finished the game with 4.78 expected goals against but only allowed 3. He was excellent and made an assortment of ten bell saves to keep the Senators in the game all throughout. He was very calm and came up big on the penalty shot attempt.
If not for him, the Senators probably lose Game 2 in regulation. If he can replicate his performances for the rest of the series, he’ll be giving his team more than a good chance to win.
The Defensive Core
With Artem Zub and Tyler Kleven having been out of the lineup, it was Dennis Gilbert and Lassi Thomson taking their places. In limited minutes, they both played hard in their own zone and kept the Hurricanes to the periphery. Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot didn’t have great games either. In contrast, a lot of that can be attributed to the large amount of minutes that they played.
Chabot committed a number of unforced errors and Sanderson wasn’t nearly as effective. He wasn’t using his stick as much to break up plays and his skating seemed a little laboured. Not that both were terrible, but it probably would have been wiser to trust the depth a little more, particularly as the game wore on.
The Senators will benefit from a two-day break, both because they will need some extra rest after this game and because it will give both Zub and Kleven another day to prepare for their returns. Those players will all be key factors for the Senators to get back in this series. It’s going to be tough, but you can definitely see the vision. As we get ready for puck drop, we know Tyler Kleven and Cameron Crotty draw in tonight. That will mean Gilbert and Thomson will sit for tonight.
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