Ottawa Senators clinch playoff spot for first time since 2017. Tickets to go on sale next week

Excitement is high as the Ottawa Senators are officially in the playoffs for the first time since 2017. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

The Ottawa Senators say single-game playoff tickets will go on sale to the general public next week, as club prepares for playoff hockey for the first time in eight years.

The Senators clinched a playoff spot thanks to the Montreal Canadiens beating the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night. The Senators reserved their spot for the playoffs despite losing to Columbus 5-2.

Senators President and CEO Cyril Leeder told reporters the Senators making the playoffs is “good for the community.”

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“The bars, the restaurants, the hotels – it’s good for everybody.“

Leeder said the playoffs will open on April 19 or 20. The Senators first round playoff opponent and dates for the series have not been confirmed.

The Senators say single-game playoff tickets should be on sale between April 15 and 18.

“We’ll go out to our season seat owners now, make sure they’ve got what they need. We’re going to sell to new season seat owners, that’s going to take place over another week,” Leeder said Wednesday morning. “Then we’ll assess where the inventory is at and we’ll go out to the general public somewhere between the 15th and 18th of April.”

The Senators say the franchise is currently working through allocating playoff tickets to season seat members and new season seat members.

Leeder said there has been a lot of excitement for the Senators over the past 24 hours, with 50 season tickets sold on Tuesday and over 200 inquiries about tickets after the club clinched a playoff spot.

“We’ve got some work to do to rebuild our season seat base and nothing helps that more than getting into the playoffs,” Leeder said, adding over 600 new season seats have been sold over the past five weeks.

The Senators returning to the playoffs is exciting for fans and the playoffs.

“To find out we’re in the dance, I was pretty excited,” Senators forward Drake Batherson told reporters after the Senators game in Columbus. “Some of us have been at it seven, eight years without a playoff game, so really proud of the group and everyone is pretty excited.”

Defenceman Thomas Chabot told reporters, “The entire group is pretty fired up.”

“We’re just excited to get in. We can’t wait to go.”

Fans celebrated the Senators making the playoffs while watching the game at the Senate Tavern.

“It’s going to be an absolute blast. Long time in the making,” a fan told CTV News Ottawa.

Another fan said, “It will be awesome to go see a playoff game. Pretty fun to go to the CTC (Canadian Tire Centre). I’ve never been to a Sens playoff game before.”

This is the 17th time in franchise history the Senators will be in the playoffs. The last time the Senators were in the playoffs was the 2016-17 season, when the Sens lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

There is a chance the Senators will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. Leeder was asked about concerns a Sens-Leafs series could see a lot of Toronto fans in the Canadian Tire Centre.

“Taking care of our season seat owners first and adding new season seat owners, I think that’s the best medicine. The way to get your building full of own fans is to have it full of season seat owners,” Leeder said.

Leeder said the club won’t try to limit ticket sales to only fans in the Ottawa-Gatineau area.

“You can’t do that and we won’t try to do that. Our plan is to talk to our season seat owners, get them what we need, we think those are the true Sens fans, and then we’ll go out to the general public.”

Leeder says the Senators can turn off the resale option on extra tickets sold to season seat owners for playoff games.

Playoff games at Canadian Tire Centre

The Senators have announced several festivities for the Canadian Tire Centre during Senators playoff games.

The Senators say Canadian Tire Centre will host the CIBC Red Zone pre-game festivities at each home game throughout the playoffs. Before each home game, three hours prior to puck drop, the Gate 1 Plaza area will serve as the primary meeting place for Sens fans, according to the club.

There will be the Sens Beer Garden, with food and beverage available to purchase. The Plaza will also feature live entertainment, photo stations, games, face painting, and other activations.

Leeder tells CTV News Ottawa the Senators are also looking at enhancing the game experience.

“There’ll be a new opening, a higher grade of production for the games, playoff merchandise,” Leeder said Tuesday.

Leeder says the Senators are looking to order 80,000 rally towels for the games.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Dave Charbonneau and Shaun Vardon