Senators 4, Golden Knights 3 (SO): Ottawa Hangs On in the

Sometimes teams need to win ugly. This game felt like Ottawa had to drag it out of the desert dust by sheer will. The Senators didn’t play their best game, not by a long shot, but they showed something coaches love: stubbornness. When the ice tilted hard toward Vegas, Ottawa didn’t fold. They bent, a few times almost disastrously, but they stayed upright long enough to take the full two points by a score of 4-3 after the extra period solved nothing.

From Ottawa’s point of view, this trip is beginning to reveal who they are. Jake Sanderson was everywhere — skating, defending, creating — and Linus Ullmark took on wave after wave of pressure and held his ground when the team sagged. The Senators built a 3-1 lead and then watched the Golden Knights slowly reel them in. Still, unlike earlier in the year, they didn’t panic. Ottawa just kept responding, through the push, the noise, and the long Vegas cycles. That’s the kind of maturity this team needs to go far in the playoffs.

Three Senators’ Takeaways

Takeaway One: Jake Sanderson drove the game for the Senators. Sanderson’s goal and two assists only tell part of the story. When Ottawa needed composure, he provided it. His power-play score was a turning point early, and his skating bailed the Senators out more than once.

Takeaway Two: Linus Ullmark’s calm play saved his team. When Vegas surged, especially in the second and third, Ullmark was the one piece that didn’t wobble. He stopped all three shootout attempts and looked locked in all night. After some early-season struggles, he’s pulled things together nicely.

Takeaway Three: Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux carried the transition game. Even if the Senators struggled at times to exit their zone, Stutzle and Giroux kept feeding pucks into dangerous ice. Their persistence created the play that sprung Drake Batherson for the 3-1 goal that, ultimately, allowed Ottawa to survive Vegas’ comeback.

Final Thought from the Senators’ Perspective

Road trips can expose cracks in a team or tighten the bolts. This one looks like the latter for Ottawa. The Senators didn’t play a perfect game, but they played a mature one. Good teams survive these nights. Better teams learn from them. Ottawa might be inching toward that second category. They are looking like one of the best teams in the Atlantic Division.