2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Senators vs. Hurricanes Eastern 1st Round preview

The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs features 16 teams in eight best-of-7 series, which start Saturday. Today, NHL.com previews the Eastern Conference First Round between the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes.

(1WC) Ottawa Senators vs. (1M) Carolina Hurricanes

Senators: 44-27-11, 99 points

Hurricanes: 53-22-7, 113 points

Season series: OTT: 1-2-0; CAR: 2-1-0

Game 1: Saturday at Carolina (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS)

The Carolina Hurricanes will play the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the first postseason series between the two teams. 

Yet Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour already knows what to expect. 

"That's a tough matchup," Brind'Amour said. "They all are this time of year and moving forward, but that is one of the better teams in the NHL in my opinion. They had a tough start to their season and interesting things going on, but they got it covered, top to bottom. It's going to be a huge challenge." 

The Hurricanes finished first in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference and will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-7 series, which starts at Lenovo Center on Saturday.

The Senators were the second wild card from the East.

Since March 1, these two teams have been among the best in the League. The Hurricanes were 15-7-1 in 23 games. Only the Philadelphia Flyers (16-6-1) won more games in that span. The Senators went 15-5-3, but their .717 points percentage was tied with the Flyers for third ahead of the Hurricanes (.674, tied for sixth).

"Tough one," Ottawa coach Travis Green said of the matchup. "They are a good team, been a good team for a long time, a lot of playoff experience. We talk a lot here of knowing our game and understanding our game and I think they are a good example of knowing how they play and how they get to their game. It's an aggressive game they play. Two teams that have a lot of similarities in their game."   

The Hurricanes have qualified for the playoffs in each of Brind'Amour's eight seasons. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Final three times, including last season, when they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in five games.

The Senators qualified for the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016-17, losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games of the opening round. 

Seth Jarvis had four points (three goals, one assist) in three games against the Senators, and Andrei Svechnikov (two goals, one assist), Sebastian Aho (one goal, two assists), Nikolaj Ehlers (three assists) and Jackson Blake (three assists) had three apiece. Brandon Bussi went 2-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .938 save percentage in two starts. Frederik Andersen allowed five goals on 30 shots in his only start, a 6-3 loss April 5.

Tim Stutzle had three goals and one assist against the Hurricanes, and Jake Sanderson and Dylan Cozens each had one goal and three assists. James Reimer was 0-2-0 with a 4.18 GAA and .789 save percentage in two starts. Linus Ullmark, the likely Game 1 starter, made 25 saves in the 6-3 win.

Carolina was led by Aho's 80 points (27 goals, 53 assists) in 79 games. Ehlers was second with an NHL career-high 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists) in 82 games, and Svechnikov also set an NHL career high with 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists) in 79 games. Jarvis led the Hurricanes with 32 goals. Shayne Gostisbehere led defensemen with 50 points (13 goals, 37 assists) in 55 games.

Bussi went 31-6-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average, .895 save percentage and two shutouts in 39 games (all starts) this season, his first in the NHL. Andersen was 16-14-5 with a 3.05 GAA and .874 save percentage in 35 games (all starts).

The Senators were led by Stutzle (83 points; 34 goals, 49 assists in 80 games). Drake Batherson was second with an NHL career-high 71 points (33 goals, 38 assists) in 79 games. Captain Brady Tkachuk and Cozens each had 59 points. Sanderson led defensemen with 54 points (14 goals, 40 assists) in 67 games.

Ullmark was 28-12-8 with a 2.73 GAA, .891 save percentage and three shutouts in 49 games (all starts). Reimer, who signed a one-year contract with Ottawa on Jan. 12, went 7-4-2 with a 2.42 GAA, .886 save percentage and one shutout in 14 games (13 starts).

Game breakers

Senators: Through a season when the Senators experienced a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, Stutzle was the consistent rock. Besides being their leading scorer, he was plus-7, a category Green probably likes most of all. It was the first time Stutzle was a plus player in his six NHL seasons, and he exhibited the speed bursts and timely goals reminiscent of his 2022-23 season, when he set career highs in goals (39) and points (90).

Hurricanes: Aho does everything for the Hurricanes. He is their biggest offensive threat and no forward played more than his 3:09 per game on the power play, where he had 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists). He averaged 1:42 of short-handed time per game as a secondary penalty killer and had a team-best six points (two goals, four assists) while down at least one man. He had 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 22 games since the 2026 Winter Olympics, where he won a bronze medal with Team Finland.

Goaltending

Senators: There is no bigger reason for Ottawa's second-half resurgence than Ullmark. His play at times during the final two months mirrored a spectacular 2023-23 season when he went 40-6-1 with a 1.89 GAA and .938 save percentage for the Boston Bruins en route to winning the Vezina Trophy voted as the top goalie in the NHL. There's been the odd hiccup but for the most part, the 32-year-old has rediscovered his game, including seven consecutive starts from March 31 to April 11, when the Senators clinched a playoff berth. In a nutshell, he's become the difference maker Ottawa hoped he'd be.

Hurricanes: This is the biggest question mark. Could Bussi start Game 1? He's been a revelation after toiling in the American Hockey League for the past three seasons before signing with the Florida Panthers on July 1, 2025, and then getting claimed off waivers by Carolina on Oct. 5. Bussi signed a three-year, $5.7 million contract (average annual value of $1.9 million) with the Hurricanes on Feb. 16 and was among the most dominant goalies this season and just as importantly, went 6-0-1 in his final seven starts while allowing 18 goals. Andersen is the more experienced goalie and has been the playoff starter throughout his tenure with the Hurricanes.  The 36-year-old played for Team Denmark at the 2026 Olympics and has 85 games of Stanley Cup Playoff experience. He was 8-5 with a 2.02 GAA, .907 save percentage and two shutouts last year.

Numbers to know

Senators: Nine. That's the number of times defenseman Jordan Spence was a healthy scratch this season, each coming in the first 14 games. Consider it a wakeup call. The 25-year-old rebounded to set NHL career-highs in goals (seven), assists (24) and points (31) while averaging 18:44 of ice time per game. His emergence in the top four with Sanderson, Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub gives Ottawa a formidable back end.

Hurricanes: They're a shot-volume team with an average of 32.2 shots per game that ranked second in the League. Carolina also allowed the fewest shots on goal per game (23.9) and tends to overwhelm teams in the attacking zone. Interestingly, the Senators only allowed 24.4 shots per game (tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for second) and the series will be defined to a good degree by which team can exert its influence more in this area.

They said it

"We're not just here to be a playoff team, we're here to win a Cup.  That does take some time as well. You have to build into that. This year has had different challenges than last year. I think partially because expectations were higher, we were playing better than last year and because they want to win badly, yet they weren't in the spot that they wanted to be in. We're not just here to make the playoffs. It's nice that we did, but we want to win the Stanley Cup." -- Senators coach Travis Green

"They are a good team and they play hard. They earned their spot in the playoffs, obviously. It's going to be a great series for us, and we know what we are up against. I'm sure in the next few days we will look at them more in depth," -- Hurricanes forward Mark Jankowski

Will win if …

Senators: Ullmark plays like he did in his Vezina season. Or, for that matter, the past two months. The Hurricanes are known for their pressure game, one that features a hard forecheck and plenty of offensive-zone time that grinds down defenders and creates scoring chances. That's where Ullmark comes in. The Senators have a strong enough team that their goalie doesn't have to win the series on his own. What he does have to do is make the timely stops on those occasions when the Hurricanes are tilting the ice.

Hurricanes: They find success on special teams, whey they own a distinct advantage. Their power play was 24.9 percent in the regular season, fourth in the League. Ottawa's penalty kill was 29th (75.7 percent). This is an area that can be exploited, especially when the high emotions of the playoffs lead to more penalties.

How they look

Senators projected lineup

Drake Batherson -- Claude Giroux -- Tim Stutzle

Brady Tkachuk -- Dylan Cozens -- Ridley Greig

Nick Cousins -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio

Warren Foegele -- Lars Eller -- Fabian Zetterlund

Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub

Thomas Chabot -- Jordan Spence

Lassi Thompson -- Nikolas Matinpalo

Linus Ullmark

James Reimer

Scratched: Stephen Halliday, Kurtis MacDermid, Hayden Hodgson, Cameron Crotty, Dennis Gilbert

Injuries: Tyler Kleven, Nick Jensen

Hurricanes projected lineup

Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis

Taylor Hall -- Logan Stankoven -- Jackson Blake

Nikolaj Ehlers -- Jordan Staal -- Jordan Martinook

William Carrier -- Mark Jankowski -- Eric Robinson

Jaccob Slavin -- Jalen Chatfield

K'Andre Miller -- Sean Walker

Shayne Gostisbehere -- Alexander Nikishin

Frederik Andersen

Brandon Bussi

Scratched: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nicolas Deslauriers, Mike Reilly, Pyotr Kochetkov

Injured: None