{"id":489487,"date":"2026-04-25T07:45:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T11:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=489487"},"modified":"2026-04-25T07:45:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T11:45:25","slug":"nhl-predictions-round-1-game-4-stanley-cup-playoffs-ottawa-senators-carolina-hurricanes-april-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/04\/25\/nhl-predictions-round-1-game-4-stanley-cup-playoffs-ottawa-senators-carolina-hurricanes-april-25\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Round 1, Game 4, Stanley Cup Playoffs Ottawa Senators vs Carolina Hurricanes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welcome to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/04\/17\/linus-ullmark-recap-2025-26-nhl-season-ottawa-senators-stats-review\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ottawa Senators<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at home against the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/02\/16\/carolina-hurricanes-goalie-inks-contract-extension\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carolina Hurricanes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. This is NHL Predictions with us here at <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last Word On Hockey<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 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\u2019s see if they can begin to do that in Game 4.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>NHL Predictions with Senators and Hurricanes<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Season Series: <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Puck Drop:<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) || 12:00 p.m. Pacific<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/full-guide-for-how-to-stream-and-watch-nhl-hockey-games\/\" target=\"_self\"><b>How to Watch<\/b><\/a><b>: TBS, HBO MAX, CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS, FDSNSO<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Location:<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> From the cozy confines of the Canadian Tire Centre, live from Kanata, Ontario.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOB7jBTCtFJ\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 7929px; aspect-ratio: 7929\/5289;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>Credit Image: \u00a9 Alex Cave\/ZUMA Press Wire<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019ve also been bitten by the injury bug and much of the puck luck has fallen the Hurricanes\u2019 way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Head coach Travis Green announced on Friday that both <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/sandeja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jake Sanderson<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/z\/zubar01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Artem Zub<\/a> 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\u2019s safe to say that Green was not happy about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Travis Green says he\u2019s \u201cshocked\u201d that there isn\u2019t supplemental discipline for Taylor Hall\u2019s hit on Sanderson.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Alex Adams (@alexadamsBTP_) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alexadamsBTP_\/status\/2047723211240980539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Matchup<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019t even enter the offensive zone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It even lead to Green benching his top forwards, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tkachbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brady Tkachuk<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/stuetti02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tim Stutzle<\/a>, on the power play to begin the third period. Neither of them have a point in this series and it\u2019s a significant reason as to why they\u2019re in this spot. You\u2019re just simply not going to win consistently in the playoffs if your best players don\u2019t produce.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019ve also made some bad decisions away from the puck too. Stutzle was on the ice for both of Carolina\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Goalies<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The goaltenders certainly have both played very well in this series. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/u\/ullmali01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Linus Ullmark<\/a> 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\u2019s faced haven\u2019t been of the low-danger variety either. There\u2019s been many instances where he\u2019s had to sprawl across to make a terrific glove save or be sharp in tight with his pads during goalmouth scrambles. He\u2019s given his team a chance to win every night, he just hasn\u2019t gotten the goal support. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, Frederik Andersen\u2019s numbers have been terrific as well, but his workload hasn\u2019t 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\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>NHL Predictions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prediction: Carolina 3 \u2013 Ottawa 1<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3><b>Prop Bets<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For our classic anytime goal scorers, we like Logan Stankoven for the Hurricanes. He\u2019s 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\u2019ll take Dylan Cozens. He\u2019s factored in on two of the three goals that the Senators have in this series and led the team in shots in Game 3.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: <span>Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5738,"featured_media":489662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,10,4547,4548],"tags":[8285,6010,6109],"class_list":["post-489487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-senators","category-hurricanes","category-hockey","category-nhl","tag-2026-stanley-cup-playoffs","tag-carolina-hurricanes-predictions","tag-ottawa-senators-predictions"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5738"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489487"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":489664,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489487\/revisions\/489664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}