Senators Show Urgency in Big Victory Over Hurricanes
Ottawa walked into the Canadian Tire Centre and took care of business, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 6–3. Brady Tkachuk led the charge with a pair of goals, and there was support everywhere you turned. Tim Stützle, Shane Pinto, and Dylan Cozens each chipped in with a goal and an assist. After a tough outing in Minnesota, Linus Ullmark bounced back nicely with 25 saves — steady, calm, exactly what they needed.
Meanwhile, Carolina looked a little off. Not terrible, just flat. And against a team playing with urgency, that’s usually enough to get you beat.
Three takeaways from the Senators’ 6–3 win over the Hurricanes.
Takeaway One: Ottawa Played Like a Team That Needed the Win.
This game wasn’t complicated. Ottawa is fighting for a playoff spot, and they looked like it. They skated, they pushed, and they went to the hard areas without hesitation.
That kind of urgency shows up in little ways, like winning races to the puck, extending shifts, and getting sticks on pucks. For the Senators, over a full game, it added up. Tkachuk’s goals were big, sure, but the real story was how many guys were involved. When your best players produce, and your depth follows along, you’re tough to handle.
Takeaway Two: Carolina Didn’t Get Enough From Its Depth.
The Hurricanes got some push from their top guys — Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven were noticeable — but beyond that, it thinned out. There were too many lost puck battles. A few bad pinches. Faceoffs that didn’t go their way, either. It’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t always burn you, but against a desperate team on home ice, it did.
Good teams can get away with an off night here and there. But this one cost them.
Takeaway Three: It Wasn’t the Goalies—It Was Everything Else.
Both Ullmark and Frederik Andersen finished with 25 saves, so this wasn’t about goaltending falling apart. The difference was in the details. Ottawa’s power play cashed in. Their forwards tracked back. They cleaned up their own end well enough.
Carolina, on the other hand, gave away a few too many looks, too many messy clears, penalties at the wrong time, and just enough breakdowns to keep Ottawa in rhythm.
That’s usually how these games tilt.
The Bottom Line for the Senators.
It was an important game for both sides, just in different ways. Carolina is still sitting comfortably near the top of the league, but this was a reminder they’re not bulletproof. There are details to clean up before the games really start to matter.
Ottawa, on the other hand, grabbed something valuable. They now have a bit of breathing room in the wild-card race and a reminder of what they look like when they play the right way. If they can bottle that urgency, they won’t just sneak into the playoffs — they’ll be a problem once they get there.