'Obviously want to get two': Senators vying for every point in tightly contested East

Pittsburgh Penguins Parker Wotherspoon (28) deflects a shot in front of goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) and Ottawa Senators Drake Batherson (19) during first period NHL action in Ottawa, Thursday, March 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The Ottawa Senators are hoping the season won’t come down to a single point.

With 10 regular-season games left, every single point holds increased value. On Thursday, the Senators lost what could be a valuable point falling 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout.

And while a win would have been ideal, picking up a single point could prove crucial through these last three weeks of the regular season.

Following a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings earlier in the week, the Senators found themselves in the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. But Thursday’s defeat put them back on the outside looking in.

“Right now, we obviously want to get two,” said forward Drake Batherson, who scored a pair of goals and set a career high in goals, 29. “We’ll take the point and we’ve got another big one against Tampa Saturday.”

The fight for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference is a highly contested battle.

“Everybody knows the situation that the East has become,” said Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson. “Every game feels like a must win. You win you’re in, you lose one you’re out.”

The Penguins are one of a handful of teams the Senators are battling for playoff positioning.

Ottawa has managed to remain competitive despite missing its top two defencemen, as well as two depth defencemen.

Jake Sanderson has missed the last 10 games but could be poised to return if he continues to progress. He will travel to Florida with the team.

Thomas Chabot will miss the next four to eight weeks after undergoing surgery on his forearm Thursday. Dennis Gilbert is expected to miss three weeks. Lassi Thompson will also travel to Florida, but like Sanderson, remains questionable.

Earlier this week, the Senators recalled Carter Yakemchuk and Jorian Donovan from their American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville. Both made their debut Tuesday in Detroit.

While head coach Travis Green is the face of the team, assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner deserves huge credit for managing Ottawa’s blueline through this challenge.

A former player, with stints in both the AHL and NHL, the 50-year-old Baumgartner has helped Tyler Kleven and Jordan Spence elevate their game as they take on additional minutes and is working closely with Yakemchuk and Donovan.

“He’s working overtime right now,” joked Green. “On the bench during the game there’s a lot of juggling going on. Obviously, if you’re coaching against us, you’re maybe trying to get certain lines out against certain defencemen, and that’s the on-ice game. And the off-ice part is lots of video trying to fast track some of these young guys.”

In their first game, both players were used somewhat sparingly. Donovan played 4:42, while Yakemchuk logged 12:46 of ice time. On Thursday, Donovan saw his ice time double to 9:22 and Yakemchuk played 17:42 and was even given a shift in overtime.

“He was solid,” Green said of Donovan. “He’s going to make a few mistakes here and there but I thought he gave us some solid minutes and that’s all we can ask of him.”

As for Yakemchuk, Green admitted he and Baumgarter had a quick conversation about whether or not they would use him in overtime and how to guard him against certain players.

“He’s going to learn a lot,” admitted Green. “He’s a young guy. He’s played two hockey games. There’s lots to learn. He’s a good hockey player.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2026.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press