The Ottawa Senators are playing their best hockey of the season and have put themselves in position to compete for the final wild card spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, all on a shoestring budget.
The wins started coming with the introduction of previously unknown goalie Andrew Hammond against the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 18 and momentum picked up over a three-game sweep of California. But it also came down to the team getting key pieces of their future settled and blossoming under new head coach Dave Cameron.
Ottawa was nine points out of the final playoff spot at the start of their West coast road trip. Now they are five out with a game in hand against their target, Boston, with 18 games left to play. The Sens host the Bruins twice before the end of the season, including Tuesday night.
Playoff Push
Boston is currently on pace for 96 points and the final wild card spot.
Ottawa needs to finish their final 18 games with 25 points (a record of 12–5–1, for example) to match Boston’s projected end-of-season point total. It’s a tall order, but the Sens are currently the NHL’s hottest team (8–1–1 in their last 10 games).
Also in the mix is Florida, but things look dire for Philadelphia and New Jersey.
Florida needs to go 12–4–0 to reach 96 points. The team that acquired Jaromir Jagr at the trade deadline for the playoff push faces a steeper climb than Ottawa.
The Sens play 10 of their final 18 games at home, with eight against teams that are out of the playoff positions currently.
