Grading Every Ottawa Senators’ 2026 Playoff Performance After First-Round Exit – The Hockey Writers – Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators have been eliminated from the playoffs in just four games against the Carolina Hurricanes. There were many disappointing players, the team scored just five goals in those four games, and for most of the series, showed no sign of life.

Rather than picking and choosing who to talk about, here is a letter grade for each of the members of the Senators who played in the playoffs. Spoiler warning, it isn’t very good.

Linus Ullmark – A+

Series Stats: 0-3-1 – .932 SV% – 2.02 GAA – 5.3 GSAx

Not a single finger should be pointed at Linus Ullmark. Through all of the poor play, criticism, mental health struggles, and a leave from the team, all eyes were on the netminder heading into the playoffs.

Every other member of the Senators should be apologizing to him. He was the only one who was consistent, and as for individual stats like save percentage and goals against average, he is the second-best goalie in both stats these playoffs, behind only Frederik Andersen, which is only because the Senators couldn’t score at all.

For goals saved above expected (GSAx), he ranks first with his 5.3, and first in GSAx per 60 minutes. He was the better goalie all series, he made some massive stops (especially on the overtime penalty shot), and was the backbone of the team.

If you showed these stats to anyone before the series started, it would seem clear that the Senators would have dominated the series. His team didn’t show up for him.

Carter Yakemchuk – A+

Series Stats: 1GP – 0G – 2A – 2P

The only other player who belongs in this realm had to wait until Game 4 and three defensemen down to get here. Carter Yakemchuk should have been in the lineup from the moment Artem Zub was deemed out for any amount of time.

Only three of the 22 players to suit up this postseason had less total ice time for the Senators, yet only one player has more points than Yakemchuk. As I wrote prior to Game 4, Yakemchuk was a must-have asset in this lineup.

While there are certainly defensive hurdles for him to jump, his offensive abilities were desperately needed on the power play. While the Senators still went just 1-for-9 with the man advantage, he was a much better option that what they had previously had. Seeing him post his first two points in the NHL playoffs as the team faced elimination was very promising for the future, too.

And, for those who appreciate advanced analytics, he had an outstanding 78.9 percent expected goals percentage, a team-leading 65.5 percent Corsi share, and was at or near the top of most other stats, too.

Drake Batherson – B+

Series Stats: 4GP – 3G – 1A – 4P

Drake Batherson had a decent series. On the scoresheet, he was without a doubt the most impactful, scoring three goals and adding and assist. In a series where goals were so hard to come by for the Senators, that has to mean something.

He was one of only two players to beat Andersen.

Away from the puck, Batherson didn’t have a great series. He isn’t known for his defensive abilities at all, but he brought exactly what was expected. Hard board battles, some poor positioning at times, and untimely giveaways led to some Hurricanes chances.

Jake Sanderson – B

Series Stats: 3GP – 0G – 2A – 2P

After suffering a concussion from a hit from Taylor Hall in Game 3, the Senators were going to be without their top player for Game 4. While his playoff performance wasn’t outstanding by any means, he was good. The Hurricanes took advantage of matchups in the first two games, and had Sanderson playing a heavy defensive game.

While Sanderson’s transition game is excellent, he was often hemmed into his own end. While there, he kept the ‘Canes to the outside, cleared the net-front, and did all of the things that he needed to.

Sanderson wasn’t a stand-out, which is a touch disappointing, but he was there to do his job in the defensive end.

He did manage to pick up a pair of assists, which is no surprise, but again, his offensive role was limited in this series.

Nikolas Matinpalo – B

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

After spending a lot of the year in the press box, Matinpalo showed his value on the ice for the Senators throughout the playoffs. He averaged over 20 minutes per game, and in that time, stayed calm and played a smooth game.

Matinpalo is one of the most underrated skaters in the league. He is very fast, but hasn’t shown the confidence to skate with the puck as much as he could. He made smart breakout passes, was hard against the boards, and was a stable defenseman for them. He did everything the Senators could have asked for.

Artem Zub – B

Series Stats: 1GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

Now, it is impossible to give Artem Zub a fair rating here. He played just under eight minutes in Game 1, and was unavailable for the rest of the series due to an injury.

The injury came from a huge hit he delivered on Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis. In a game where the Senators were needing some momentum, he did what he could to give them that.

Would this series have gone differently if their top right-shot defenseman was in? Maybe, probably, but we will never know.

Dylan Cozens – B-

Series Stats: 4GP – 2G – 0A – 2P

Dylan Cozens joins Batherson on the two-man list of goal-scorers for the Senators. With a pair of goals, including the one to bring the Senators to within one of the Hurricanes in Game 4, Cozens did his part there.

There were some good stretches for him where he out-battled the Hurricanes, but otherwise he was fairly pedestrian. That is a pretty common trend, and it isn’t necessarily to the fault of the players. The Hurricanes are just so good at shutting the game down.

Cozens did his job physically, leading the team with 17 hits, and he was working hard all series. One of the few bright spots.

Tyler Kleven – B-

Series Stats: 2GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

Like Zub, this is a hard one to evaluate. Tyler Kleven had missed the first two games of the series after suffering a broken jaw in the last few weeks of the season. He left his mark on the series, though, in both a good way and a not-so-good way.

The way that Zub made an attempt to shift momentum, Kleven did the same. He laid a massive, clean hit against Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin, which led to an unfortunate injury. From that play, the Senators ended up with a power play. This was a great showing of what Kleven can do.

Unfortunately, midway through the third period of Game 4, Kleven was on the offending side of a penalty. As Andrei Svechnikov was battling alongside Kleven, his head got close to Kleven’s torso, and the Senators defender closed his arm and essentially put him in a headlock. This led to the go-ahead power play goal, deflating the Senators and their playoff hopes.

One penalty usually can’t tank a rating, but that was the worst thing he could have done in that situation. Otherwise, he probably would have received an A- rating.

Dennis Gilbert – B-

Series Stats: 3GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

For a player who the Senators have brought in two years in a row, and only managed to get 12 total games in, he did a good job in the playoffs. He was physical, he wasn’t a liability, and did a surprisingly good job of moving the puck up the ice.

Ridly Greig – C+

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 1A – 1P

Ridly Greig is a lot of fun to watch. He crossed the line with a sucker punch to the face of Sean Walker during a scrum in Game 4, which could see some supplemental discipline, but otherwise he was quite disciplined.

Greig plays with a lot of speed, has flashes of great skill, but those weren’t on full display this series. He was fine.

Shane Pinto – C+

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

Shane Pinto had a very hot-and-cold season, and the playoffs was a cold spell for him. He didn’t have much in terms of generated offense, and it seemed like he was fighting the puck all series. With that being said, he did his job well as a shut-down third-line centre.

Some offense from a player who just received a $7.5 million extension shouldn’t be too much to ask, though.

Warren Foegele – C+

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

Warren Foegele was brought in at the trade deadline, and was an excellent player for them down the stretch. Once the playoffs hit, which he has plenty of experience in, he did a good job on the defensive side, but wasn’t given offensive opportunities.

In Game 4, Foegele was elevated to the top line to give them energy, and honestly, it was the best that line had looked all series.

Jordan Spence – C

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

After a huge breakout performance to end the season, there were some pretty high expectations for Jordan Spence heading into the playoffs. He played pretty well defensively, but again, like every other Senators, maintaining possession of the puck was a struggle.

Having Zub and Nick Jensen unavailable puts Spence as the top right-shot player. He did well with this during the season, but wasn’t good enough to carry that weight in the playoffs, especially against a team who takes away all offensive opportunity.

Tim Stutzle – C

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 1A – 1P

The best part about Tim Stutzle is how impressive he is with the puck on his stick. He has as much talent as anybody else in the league, but he, along with his linemates, were completely shut down. A little bit of puck luck and Stutzle could have had a few more points and the series could look completely different.

That wasn’t the case though. He earned the name “Timmy Superstar”, but in this series, he wasn’t able to get anything going.

For being the top player on a playoff team, leaving with just one assist in four games is unacceptable.

Claude Giroux – C

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

Claude Giroux wrapped up what could be his final season in the NHL, and it was a disappointing exit. He did fine defensively, but was a black hole with the puck. He is one of the most well-respected players in the league, but after a great start with the Senators organization, he has slowed down exponentially.

He is a great mentor to have around, helped so many of the young players get to where they are, but using him as a top-six option just isn’t going to work anymore. He never seemed to be bothered by a role lower in the lineup, and that isn’t his decision, but playing as much as he did put his flaws on display during the series.

Lassi Thomson – C

Series Stats: 1GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

In one playoff appearance, Lassi Thomson played well given the expectations. Now, he earns a “C” rating here because he didn’t do much, but that is what he was brought in to do. In a double-overtime game, he only skated for 13 minutes.

In the time leading up to the playoffs, Thomson showed that he can play at the NHL level. With more ice time, he could have had a bigger impact, but seven years after being selected in the first round, he finally got his taste of playoff action.

Cameron Crotty – C-

Series Stats: 1GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

During the Game 4 post-game media availability, head coach Travis Green stated that using 10 defensemen in a four-game series wasn’t a common thing and alluded to the fact that injuries hurt them. To be quite frank, Green should be in the running for the Jack Adams Award, but there was no reason for Crotty to play.

Like Thomson, it is a good story, but Crotty was in the lineup before Yakemchuk, and with the Senators struggling to get any offense going. This isn’t on Crotty. He shouldn’t be in the position he was in. Overall, he did fine, but there were a few plays where it was evident the pressure was getting to him.

Most notably, shot attempts from Crotty would often get blocked by the high defender, and leading to a chance the other way.

Michael Amadio – C-

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

For a third-line winger who realistically could be in the Selke Trophy conversation, Michael Amadio didn’t have a very strong series. Nobody expects much offense, though he is capable.

Where people were looking for more was defensively. Now, the Senators as a whole did a good job, but Amadio had some of the worst advanced analytics on the roster during the playoffs.

Lars Eller – C-

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

All of the things said about Amadio could be said for Lars Eller. His analytics weren’t very strong, and especially with him being a strong veteran player, his play was disappointing .

Nick Cousins – D

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 1A – 1P

Offense isn’t the highlight of Nick Cousins’ game. He is most effective is when is is physical, battling in between whistles, and making it hard for the opposition to gain traction.

Cousins had just two shot attempts in 40 minutes of ice time, and the fourth-line didn’t necessarily struggle as a group, but Cousins finished the series with a 43 percent Corsi percentage, and for expected goals percentage, he sat at 45.3 percent.

While there isn’t a ton of expectations for Cousins to take over a game or anything, he struggled in his role.

Fabian Zetterlund – D

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

The Fabian Zetterlund saga in Ottawa has been an interesting one. At times, he has shown that he can be a good producer, but when given elevated minutes, he doesn’t perform. He has spent much of the season on the fourth line, and among all players with less than 13 minutes of ice time per game, he was one of the most productive.

That wasn’t the case in the playoffs. He wasn’t carrying the puck well, he had some decent advanced stats along with the rest of the fourth line, but they weren’t able to do anything with it. For a $4 million player, he needs to be doing more.

Thomas Chabot – D-

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

Yet another player making at least $8 million to go without a point, Thomas Chabot was very underwhelming this series. A caveat, keeping him a hair above the F grade, is that he had just broken his arm. A player being injured is always tough, because if it will hinder his play this much, he shouldn’t be playing. There is no telling how much of an impact this had, though.

On the power play, the puck always died on his stick. The Senators had an unbelievable amount of power play chances, and Chabot was one of the biggest reasons they weren’t able to capitalize on many. He struggles to hold the blue line, he doesn’t have a threatening shot from the point, and his puck movement was not the best we have seen.

After enduring so many horrendous seasons with the club, Chabot has been such a bright spot, but not in this series.

Brady Tkachuk – F

Series Stats: 4GP – 0G – 0A – 0P

For his first six seasons in the league, Brady Tkachuk had the wow-factor for the Senators. Despite missing the playoffs in each of those years, he was the heartbeat of the team, he was exciting, physical, and everyone kept saying that “Playoff Brady” was going to be at the next level.

In 2024-25 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tkachuk had a good series, but not the special kind of performance many were waiting for. This season, Tkachuk faced plenty of criticism about his effort level and didn’t seem to have as much bite or energy in his game.

As the season ticked away, he played some of his best hockey. The last few games of the season showed the Tkachuk that everybody was used to seeing. Getting into this level right before the playoffs was a great sign.

That momentum was shut down pretty quickly.

To start the series, Tkachuk fought Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal, taking himself out of the game for five minutes for no reason. He then took a foolish roughing penalty to kick things off in Game 2, allowing the Hurricanes to take advantage of an early power play, which potentially cost them the win.

In Game 3, his penalty on Jordan Martinook could be forgiven, it was a weak call, but he still put himself in that position where an interference call could be made. In Game 4, Tkachuk was much more physical than the previous games, he showed a ton of heart, but it was too late for that.

All of that could be forgiven if Tkachuk had been productive on the scoresheet, but he was held without a point all series, and was a big part of the disappointing power play. The Senators need more from him.

With the endless trade rumours surrounding him, there will be plenty of speculation about his future with the team headed into the offseason.