Welcome to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Ottawa Senators at home against the Carolina Hurricanes for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. This is NHL Predictions with us here at Last Word On Hockey. This is where we break down key storylines, statistics, and analysis to try to decipher how the games will play out. With Carolina up three-games-to-none, the Senators now find themselves in a deeply troubling scenario. They have struggled to generate offence, both at five-on-five and on the power play, and now must pull off a monumental feat to save their season. Let’s see if they can begin to do that in Game 4.
NHL Predictions with Senators and Hurricanes
Season Series: In the regular season, Carolina won the season series 2-1-0, but only outscored Ottawa 11-10 in those three meetings of strong teams. Now, in this postseason, it is 3-0 Carolina, with the total score at 7-3.
Puck Drop: 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) || 12:00 p.m. Pacific
How to Watch: TBS, HBO MAX, CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS, FDSNSO
Location: From the cozy confines of the Canadian Tire Centre, live from Kanata, Ontario.
Credit Image: © Alex Cave/ZUMA Press Wire
Nobody expected the Hurricanes to be up 3-0 in this series, which is where we are after the Senators 2-1 loss on Thursday night. The games have been tight, but the Senators have failed to get to the middle of the ice and make life hard on Frederik Andersen. They’ve also been bitten by the injury bug and much of the puck luck has fallen the Hurricanes’ way.
Head coach Travis Green announced on Friday that both Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub will be out of the lineup for Game 4. This is another devastating blow for a team that needs all the help it can get right now. Zub has already missed time in this series but Sanderson was the recipient of a check to the head from Taylor Hall. It’s safe to say that Green was not happy about it.
Travis Green says he’s “shocked” that there isn’t supplemental discipline for Taylor Hall’s hit on Sanderson.
— Alex Adams (@alexadamsBTP_) April 24, 2026
The Matchup
As mentioned earlier, the Senators have not done much offensively in this series. Their power play has been a major culprit. It is now 0-for-12 on the series and went 0-for-5 Thursday night in what can only be described as a debacle.
There was a sequence in the second period where they had an extended five-on-three where not only could they barely get a shot, but they couldn’t even enter the offensive zone.
It even lead to Green benching his top forwards, Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, on the power play to begin the third period. Neither of them have a point in this series and it’s a significant reason as to why they’re in this spot. You’re just simply not going to win consistently in the playoffs if your best players don’t produce.
They’ve also made some bad decisions away from the puck too. Stutzle was on the ice for both of Carolina’s goals in the game and Tkachuk took a needless interference penalty in the third while the team was down one, wasting precious minutes on the clock. The whole team needs to be better but those two in particular must take their game to another level for the Senators to have any chance at a comeback.
The Goalies
The goaltenders certainly have both played very well in this series. Linus Ullmark has done all he can do to keep the Senators in these games. In fact, his lowest save percentage through these first three games has been .926. A lot of the shots he’s faced haven’t been of the low-danger variety either. There’s been many instances where he’s had to sprawl across to make a terrific glove save or be sharp in tight with his pads during goalmouth scrambles. He’s given his team a chance to win every night, he just hasn’t gotten the goal support.
Meanwhile, Frederik Andersen’s numbers have been terrific as well, but his workload hasn’t been the most strenuous. The Senators must do a better job of getting to the middle of the ice and getting to the net. Whether it’s getting in front of him for a screen, getting a deflection or rebound, or making slight contact to get into his head, you have to do something. The current formula is not working.
NHL Predictions
The Senators are obviously now in must win territory and must approach every game for the rest of the series with a Game 7 mentality. They need to play their most desperate hockey of the season but they must be smart about things as well. They cannot take undisciplined penalties and make egregious defensive zone gaffes. Will they be able to break through the suffocating Hurricanes defense though? That, one cannot be so sure about. Until we see it, the Hurricanes have earned the benefit of the doubt.
Prediction: Carolina 3 – Ottawa 1
Prop Bets
For our classic anytime goal scorers, we like Logan Stankoven for the Hurricanes. He’s been arguably their best skater in the series, has always been sniffing around the net and already has three in this series. His line has been dynamic and has given the Senators real fits. For Ottawa, we’ll take Dylan Cozens. He’s factored in on two of the three goals that the Senators have in this series and led the team in shots in Game 3.
Main Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
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