Senators lean on playoff experience entering Game 1 against Hurricanes

OTTAWA -- Experience was the theme echoing through the locker room Friday morning for the Ottawa Senators, who wrapped up their final practice before playing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

It’s a more seasoned Senators group than the one that played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs a year ago, marking Ottawa’s first appearance in eight seasons -- and one that believes it’s better prepared for what’s ahead.

After a first-round exit in six games last season against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa faces a Carolina team accustomed to the postseason spotlight. The Hurricanes (53-22-7), the No. 1 seed in the Metropolitan Division, are in the playoffs for the eighth straight season.

“Obviously, you always look back at those times,” Senators center Tim Stutzle said. “Just gets really exciting. And yeah, I think obviously it helps us a lot coming into the series. We all maybe (were) a little bit too hyped up (last year), took too many penalties.

“We’ve got to find a way to be really excited, but also just keep playing our game and keep playing the way we’ve been playing.” 

The Senators (44-27-11) enter the postseason on a high, having gone 16-5-4 since the break for the 2026 Winter Olympics to clinch the second wild card from the East.

“It’s exciting,” Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk said. “We achieved one goal of ours. Now we have an opportunity to set the stage for another. But I know my focus, our team’s focus is nothing past Game 1.”

Tkachuk said the Senators have tried to pattern their game after that of the Hurricanes.

“Day in and day out, it’s always a grind of the game, and that’s something that we’ve looked up to, and just try to emulate,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of similarities on the offensive and defensive side of the puck. It’s just going to be a grind, it’s going to be a chess match.”

From a health standpoint, the road to the playoffs hasn’t been smooth for Ottawa. The Senators battled a wave of injuries among their defensemen, at one point missing Tyler Kleven, Jake Sanderson, Nick Jensen, Dennis Gilbert, Thomas Chabot and Carter Yakemchuk.

Kleven skated Friday in a noncontact jersey for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury on April 2. Coach Travis Green said the defenseman is closer to returning but didn’t say whether that would be for Game 1.

Sanderson, who returned to the lineup on April 4 after missing four weeks with an upper-body injury, said the playoff experience Ottawa gained last season will make a difference this time.

“I think it makes you more comfortable, helps the nerves,” Sanderson said. “You know what to expect for most parts. And yeah, we’re excited. I think the atmosphere is going to be unbelievable in both rinks.” 

Chabot said the lessons from the Maple Leafs series will be important against a team like the Hurricanes.

“(Carolina) made runs every year, and this is only the second time we make (the) playoffs,” Chabot said. “So I know that every single guy in here is ready to face that challenge, and we can’t wait to get it going.

“We know it's going to be tight hockey. It's two teams that play somewhat similar hockey. But like I said … this is playoffs. This is what we wanted all year, and we can't wait to get it rolling.”

For Green, the anticipation is no different behind the bench.

“Coaches are a lot like players. You want to play, you want to get in the game,” Green said. “As coaches, we do a lot more prep work with the players, especially during a playoff series. But we’re the same. We want to play, can’t wait for the puck to drop.

“You wait a whole year to try and win the Stanley Cup. That’s the best part of the year, so we’re excited.”