The Senators officially clinched a playoff spot on Saturday after beating the New York Islanders and a Detroit Red Wings loss to the New Jersey Devils.
The Boston Bruins also clinched a spot with the loss by the Red Wings despite losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
It is the second consecutive spring the Senators will compete in the playoffs. The Bruins are back in the playoffs after missing last season. The two teams will be competing for seeding in the two wild-card spots over the final week of the season.
The Senators were outside the playoff picture in the competitive East most of the season, but a high-scoring offence allowed them to stay in the race. As their goaltending stabilized after the Olympic break, the Senators surged up the standings to ultimately clinch a spot with two games remaining.
Entering Saturday, the Senators were eighth in the NHL with 3.36 goals per game. They are led offensively by Tim Stutzle (83 points) and Drake Batherson (69 points), while Jake Sanderson has added 54 points from the blue line.
“We’re very confident right now, and I think that confidence just comes from playing the right way, playing hard every single night,” Sanderson said Saturday.
The Senators have two games remaining against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. They will play one of the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning or Montreal Canadiens in the first round.
