2025-26 Regular Season, Game 77 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes would've wrapped up the Metropolitan Division on Saturday if they'd gotten a little help. It wasn't pretty, but the Canes beat the New York Islanders. Marc Gatcomb put the Islanders up early, scoring after coming out of the box on a 3-on-2. Seth Jarvis got it back midway through the frame, burying a shot past Ilya Sorokin's blocker to tie it up. New York jumped back in front in the second on a Max Shabanov goal, but Jackson Blake got it done this time, burying a pass from Logan Stankoven. This would help the Canes snatch momentum back and take the lead. Jarvis found Sebastian Aho on a short-handed 2-on-1, giving the Canes their first lead of the contest. Jarvis picked up his second goal of the night 24 seconds into the third period, expanding the lead. Anders Lee got one with Sorokin on the bench on a beautiful tip, but that's as close as it got. Brandon Bussi made a few stops in the dying seconds to put the game away for the Canes, earning them their third straight win.

Injury Report
Still nothing

The Opponent: Ottawa Senators (39-27-10, 88 Points; 5th in the Atlantic Division)
Last Meeting: The Hurricanes hosted the Senators in their penultimate game before the pause in February. Stephen Halladay opened the scoring early in the opening frame by redirecting a shot from Jordan Spence to beat Brandon Bussi. Sebastian Aho got it back late in the frame, throwing a shot off a skate in front of the net to draw them even. Seth Jarvis scored twice in the second period. The first came on the power play before adding another just over three minutes later to double the lead. Tim Stutzle got one back 40 seconds later on the power play, scoring from a tough angle before the end of the middle frame to get the Senators back into the fight. Ottawa's power play got another early in the third when Jake Sanderson unleashed a shot from the point to tie things up. Late in regulation, Nikolaj Ehlers caught the Senators changing, sending Jordan Staal in on a breakaway. The captain snapped it past James Reimer with 5:07 left in the third, putting the Canes ahead for good. They went on to win the game, 4-3, earning a point in their ninth straight game. Aho finished with three points, and Bussi made 24 stops in the win.

Since We Last Met: The Senators are the Hurricanes' third straight opponent this week on the edge of the playoff picture. Ottawa currently holds the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference, but it is far from secure, with three teams level with them with 88 points. The Senators haven't done themselves many favors lately, failing to capitalize on the misfortunes of the teams that they're trying to fend off. Ottawa is a very physical team that is blessed with several highly skilled playmakers. Tim Stutzle is at the top of the list, leading the team in just about every important offensive category. Drake Batherson is over 30 goals, scoring his 31st on Saturday in their 4-1 loss to Minnesota. Brady Tkachuk will be a menace. Claude Giroux always does something good against the Canes. Jake Sanderson is back in the lineup, providing a spark on the back end. They can score goals. However, for just about every goal they score, they give up the same amount. Linus Ullmark was in the net yesterday, but as we saw with the Islanders and Ilya Sorokin on Saturday, they might be willing to start Ullmark again. This is a situation where rest and travel could be a factor. The Senators played at home yesterday afternoon, while the Canes had a 7 pm start and had to clear customs.

Stories to Watch
1. It just takes one
Winning the division is back on the table for the Canes today, but the scenarios are very simple. The Penguins are back in action against the Panthers today, and I'm not hanging my hat on Florida doing anything to help us after losing 9-4 in Pittsburgh yesterday. However, the scenarios read like this: the Carolina Hurricanes win the division if they pick up one point against the Senators, or if the Penguins lose in any fashion. Pittsburgh has 94 points with five games remaining. The most points they can get is 104. The Canes currently have 104. In theory, Pittsburgh would need to win out in regulation, and the Canes would need to lose out in regulation. I guess this also means that anything beyond regulation, win or lose, would be detrimental to Pittsburgh. Regardless, I would prefer for the Canes to win the game and get two points to finish the job, but today is a day when one point wouldn't be so bad either.

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