Ottawa Senators Earn Playoff Return Behind Brady Tkachuk's Leadership

Ottawa is back. The Senators secured the Eastern Conference's second wild card in dramatic fashion, completing one of the more satisfying stories of the 2025-26 NHL regular season. A franchise that endured years of organizational upheaval and on-ice mediocrity has found its identity — physical, competitive, never yielding — and that identity is stamped with Brady Tkachuk's name. Tkachuk, 26, is now the embodiment of what Ottawa wants to be. He leads the league in drawn penalties, ranks among the top ten forwards in points, and his presence on the ice changes how opponents manage the puck. Teams that try to match his physicality end up taking too many penalties. Teams that try to avoid him cede zone time. He is, in the truest sense, a captain who shapes the game. The Senators earned their wild card spot by winning eight of their final eleven regular-season games, outlasting the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils in a three-way race that went to the final weekend. Tim Stützle had a career year, finishing with 82 points, and Drake Batherson provided the secondary scoring that Ottawa lacked in previous post-season attempts. Their opponent in Round 1, the Carolina Hurricanes, is a formidable challenge. Carolina is deep, well-coached and experienced in playoff hockey. But the Senators are not intimidated. Ottawa played Carolina four times this season, splitting the series 2-2 with two of the losses decided in overtime — evidence that the gap between these teams is smaller than the seedings suggest. In goal, Linus Ullmark has stabilized a position that was Ottawa's Achilles heel for years. His calm under pressure and his ability to steal games in close contests will be tested heavily by a Hurricanes offence that leads the Eastern Conference in shots on goal. National Capital Region fans, who have endured playoff absence since 2017, are ready. The Senators have given them a team worth watching. Now comes the harder part.