OTTAWA — Could you imagine telling Ottawa Senators fans how this week would play out in their schedule?
Ottawa began the week with a loss to the Buffalo Sabres, falling to a season sweep. Even if the playoff chances still heavily favoured the Sens, some anxiety crept in after that loss. But by week’s end, the Senators could say they’ve learned — and succeeded — in some postseason dress rehearsals with wins over two Atlantic Division powers.
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The Sens edged by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, keeping Nikita Kucherov off the scoresheet. The Senators then shut out the Florida Panthers in a 3-0 win Saturday, thanks to goaltending and timely offence.
“You talk about two teams that have been talked about for a while to win Stanley Cups and know what it takes and have been there done that,” Senators head coach Travis Green said. “Until you’ve been through those battles, whether you win or lose, you don’t really know until you do it a couple of times. Tonight was a step towards a playoff-like game and a step towards our team learning more about how to play at that time of year.”
“Those are two teams we could potentially play in the first round,” Senators winger Drake Batherson said. “It’s easy to get up for a game like that. It’s always nice beating teams in your division for sure.”
Those two wins were especially notable as they came without their captain Brady Tkachuk, who has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury. Green said he doesn’t expect his captain to play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday evening.
“When guys are hurt this year, we don’t talk about it a lot,” Green said. “Next man up kind of mentality. As badly as we want Brady back, you’ve got to continue to play and find ways to win.
“There’s going to be guys in and out of the lineup as well (in the playoffs). There’s a lot of good teams in the league that lose players and find ways to win.”
Thursday night’s game saw the Senators win with valuable contributions from the Ridly Greig, Shane Pinto and Michael Amadio line. The line won battles in the defensive zone and blocked key shots against the Bolts, with Greig winning 75 percent of his draws and adding two assists.
“We’re playing a lot of minutes against top guys,” Greig said. “I think the goal to shut those guys down makes it a lot easier for us. It’s a lot of fun.”
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Oh, and Linus Ullmark’s 31 saves while banking on a key factor against Kucherov.
“Hoping he had a bad day,” Ullmark said. “I wish I knew. There’s a reason why he puts up 100 points a season. It’s not a fluke. I’ve heard a lot of good things about him as a human, as a person, as a player. It’s not by coincidence that he’s as good as he is.”
Saturday, Pinto and Greig each won 67 percent of their faceoffs, with the former recording an assist in their win. But Saturday’s result was a straight steal on the part of their goaltender, Anton Forsberg.
“You love seeing a guy come in like that and shut the door for you against the defending Stanley Cup champs,” Batherson said. “It was a huge game, a huge win, he played awesome in net for us.”
Anton Forsberg’s resurgence
It was a bit of a surprise to see Forsberg play Saturday afternoon against the Panthers, considering the quality of their opponent. But the decision to play him paid off. Forsberg was perfect, making 40 saves in Ottawa’s win.
Anton Forsberg nollasi näyttävästi Seth Jonesin huippupaikan! ❌💯#NHLfi pic.twitter.com/S9bLBPA1KU
— Viaplay Urheilu (@ViaplayUrheilu) April 5, 2025
“Last couple of games, I’ve just been feeling really good,” Forsberg said. “I just felt the same way today. That’s great.”
“He’s been awesome,” Batherson said. “Ever since he’s been here with me, he’s been one of the hardest-working guys I know. Even if he doesn’t play for four or five games, he’s still grinding every day. When he comes in, like today, he’s able to perform like that. Really impressive and credit to him; he works hard every single day.”
Forsberg won’t complain about the good days, considering how up and down his season has been. Forsberg was 4-6-0 with an .889 save percentage through his first 11 appearances with the Senators this year. Then, a lower-body injury sidelined him for a month in December. Forsberg’s numbers have improved since he returned.
When Ullmark was sidelined with a back injury through much of December and January, Forsberg and rookie Leevi Meriläinen were tasked with holding the team afloat.
Entering his Saturday afternoon start against Florida, Forsberg had a .937 save percentage in his last five appearances for the Senators. Saturday’s performance against the reigning champion Panthers will go down among his best.
“It’s been a process all year, even the beginning of the year,” Forsberg said. “The stats might not have been the best. I didn’t feel I played bad or anything. So, we’ve always talked about sticking with it and sticking with the process and work on the things we know I need to work on. Right now, it’s been some success with it. It’s not much different from back then to now. Sometimes the puck bounces in different ways, sometimes it bounces with you.”
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And considering how close the Senators are to clinching a playoff spot, Forsberg’s contributions are mightily appreciated.
“We’ve talked about our goaltending, from day one, that we have a lot of confidence in our goalies,” Green said. “(Forsberg)’s a good goalie, a really good goalie, and he’s shown it.”
How Paul Maurice influenced Travis Green’s coaching journey
Travis Green’s coaching journey has taken him through the Western Hockey League, the American Hockey League and two NHL cities before landing in Ottawa. Paul Maurice was a catalyst at the very beginning. Both men coached against each other Saturday.
Maurice coached Green in Toronto during the latter’s final year in the league as a player in 2006-07. He observed him as a player and eventually told him he had what it took to become a coach.
“You can tell almost by standing behind a bench,” Maurice said. “Listening to what the players say on the bench, the way a guy views the game, the small things that they see, the systems of the other team. And he had that right from the start. He’s a smart guy. He’s an ex-player, so he has a different insight than guys that didn’t play.”
Green told The Athletic in December how much he took Maurice’s words “to heart,” ultimately propelling him to work his way up the coaching ladder. The Sens coach still maintains his relationship with his former coach nearly 20 years after he last stepped onto the ice as a player.
“He’s a great person, great human being, a lot of fun to talk to,” Green said. “He was my last coach in the NHL, and I’ve talked to him a lot since then. Gave me a lot of good advice as far as getting into coaching. And he’s obviously a great coach.”
Green has since taken the Senators to the precipice of their first playoff berth in eight years, thanks to a style that emphasizes defence — with some buy-in from his players — more than in years past. Entering Saturday’s games, the Senators were tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the 10th-fewest goals allowed in the NHL.
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“He’s done a heck of a job,” Maurice said. “It’s not wins and losses consistent. They’re just consistent in their identity.”
About those leaked alternate jerseys
This week, Senators fans were abuzz over an alternate jersey design that leaked online. A mix of red, gold and black with the 2D logo still prominent on the jersey. I don’t hate this concept at all, to be honest.
Ottawa’s third jersey for next season has potentially been leaked. 👀
What are your thoughts? #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/ZFbaIIi8ym
— UNSENSRD (@unsensrd) March 30, 2025
But it’s important to note these are just a concept and they had been leaked onto the internet months before. So, who knows how many other designs the Senators might have tried since this one? Here’s what the Senators told me in a statement:
“We are aware of the images once again being shared on social media. These are photos that were previously circulated several months ago. We are constantly working with Fanatics and their design team for new concepts for our jerseys, to be used in short, medium and long-term scenarios. And it is common practice for us to try different models and concepts on the ice so we can visualize what they look like in game situations. And not every design that we test out turns into a jersey that we adopt for future use.”
So, don’t get married to this design just yet, Sens fans.
(Photo of Dylan Cozens and Drake Batherson: Marc DesRosiers / Imagn Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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