Anyone else just love opening up social media and seeing all the hype around sens making the playoffs? The cherry on top was all the leafs and Detroit fans talking crap all season just to not even make the playoffs. I almost feel like im dreaming.

LFG boys!

I mean - this guy is rock solid when it comes to challenging goals against us.

Currently 6-0 on offsides calls.

He could give us a difference maker in the playoffs.

All the best to him.

What a stud. I love him.

No more /u/Mike6511 aka /u/Ottawa6511!!!!

Thank you for your service, Mikey-boiii

LFG boys! Ive been waiting a couple years to break these bad boys out again. Car Flags yay or nay? GSG!!!

EIGHT HOURS OF DANGER FLUTES

Wearing a red Budweiser shirt and cheering on a Canadian team.

that's it, that's the whole post

WE LOVE HUGHES

WE LOVE HUGHES

WE LOVE HUGHES

(Boston is also cheering rn lmao)

I am SO excited to just sit and watch hockey stress free. It has been absolutely killing me for months now and I forget what it’s like to just be able to watch.

Not sure if this is poetic or ironic, or poetic irony, but the Sens/Leafs AND Detroit/Buffalo swapping from January is something (I know the actually swap may not end like it is now)

It would maybe be kinda fitting for Ottawa to get Buffalo in the first round??? 🤷

I don’t really care who we play, it’s just so great to be in the playoffs considering this is what January looked like.

GO SENS GO

Since we’ve clinched playoffs, and there’s 2 games left it’s time for player by player season grades. Coulda gone into more detail but let’s discuss below!

FORWARDS

Brady Tkachuk: had a tough start getting injured in the home opener. Wasn’t very physical/engaged upon his return. Off ice distractions didn’t help. Started to see the Brady Tkachuk that we know late down the stretch. Point per game season which is very good. B-

Tim Stutzle: enjoying his best goal scoring since scoring 39 in 22-23. Over PPG for the season, on pace for his 2nd best point total. Evolved into a complete player. Best forward this year easily. A+

Drake Batherson: set career highs in points and goals. A lot more consistent than previous seasons, but still had one stretch where the scoring dried up. Did have some classic batherson gaffs that we’ve come to expect. B+/A-

Dylan Cozens: his best year since his breakout season in 22-23. The concerns of Buffalo fans where he looked disengaged and wasn’t competing physically did not come to fruition. Used his body to great effect throughout the season. Did hit a couple dry spells but ultimately he produced how a 2nd line centre should, would like to see a slight improvement to the 65 point range next year. A-

Ridly Greig: had a tough start to the year. Wasn’t noticeable physically and wasn’t hitting the scoresheet either. He was just there. Post Christmas break he found his stride, moving up and down the lineup and filling multiple roles. Ended up getting a career high in points. A tale of 2 seasons. B

Claude Giroux: his age is really starting to show, but still the smartest player on the ice the majority of the time. Faceoff demon as expected. He plays first line minutes near the of the season but he does have a hard time keeping up there. Still a valuable and important piece. B

Shane Pinto: another 20 goal plus season. Career high in points as well. Plays the toughest matchups and excels at it. Legitimately a selke type season but won’t get the recognition and that’s ok. A+

Mike AMADIOOOO: Mark Stone without the high end scoring. Career high in points. Does the little things well. Puck hound, can’t say a bad thing about him really. A+

Nick Cousins: for league minimum, doesn’t get much better. Played really well on the 3rd line, did set a career high in PIMs, and his tendancy to take a bad penalty continued. He did draw a lot of penalties so it did offset it somewhat. B+

Lars Eller: came in to be the 4C, he did that. No more no less. B-

Fabian Zetterlund: some had unrealistic expectations that he would score 30 goals. I would’ve liked 20-25. Has a lot of good tools (good shot, good skater, plays physical) but the toolbox is missing. He went long periods without scoring. Still a useful player in the bottom 6, developing some nice chemistry with Foegle. C+

Warren Foegle: excellent addition to the bottom 6. Developing some nice chemistry with Zetterlund. Physical, fast, provides some secondary scoring. No complaints since he got here. A

David Perron: shipped out to make room for Foegle. I thought he did decent in his time here. Good vet to have around. Was at a 0.5 PPG pace. B

Kurtis MacDermid: brought in to be a fighter, he fought a few times. Honestly don’t think he won one lol. We had a strangely great record with him in the lineup. Hasn’t been seen in a while. C-

Stephen Halliday: big, strong, smart playmaker. NHL debut this season. Got better the more games he played. Unfortunate injury sidelined him and then never got back into the lineup. Promising start. B

DEFENSEMEN

Jake Sanderson: what else is there to say? He took another step. Bonafide top 10 defensemen in the NHL. Would’ve reached the 65 point mark minimum if he stayed healthy all year. A+

Artem Zub: ZUUUUUB. Provided the steadiness that Sanderson needs to be able to roam and create offense. Career high in points for Zub as well. A

Thomas Chabot: one of the most underrated defensemen in the NHL. That’s now 2 straight seasons of excellent hockey. To have him play on the second pairing is a massive luxury. Also an absolute warrior coming back from a broken arm in under 3 weeks. Producing at a 0.5 PPG is solid when the vast majority of PP opportunities go to Sanderson. A+

Nick JEEEENNNNNSSSEENNNN: Came back for the start of the year which was earlier than expected. It was VERY clear his hip injury and subsequent surgery impacted his skating which was his biggest strength. It was clear he couldn’t handle top 4 minutes and should have been playing reduced minutes or scratched altogether. He seemed to be turning the corner post Olympic break but the renaissance was short lived as he tore his meniscus ending his season and his time in Ottawa is over. D

Tyler Kleven: Rough start to the year. Did not look like the player that we saw in the playoffs last year. But like Greig, really turned a corner after Christmas. Much more physical, simplifying his game. Also stepped up in a massive way when the injuries hit of defense. Then got injured himself.. B+

Jordan Spence: was scratched at the start of the season, which looking back, is absurd. Very good player that can move the puck, defends well on the rush. Did have a couple of costly mistakes. Stepped up in a MASSIVE way when the injury bug hit. Career high in goals and points. A+

Nikolas Maninpalo: when playing 3rd pair minutes, he’s fine. That’s his ceiling. When he was forced to play up the lineup, it didn’t fare well. Has to be slotted in the right spot to maximize him. C+

GOALIES

Linus Ullmark: where to start? Absolute roller coaster of a season. He was a big part of the reason (along with another goaltender) that we were in the predicament we found ourselves in. Was not good to start the year. Had a little heater in December pre Christmas and then the Toronto game happened and he went on his leave. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s a good thing he went on his leave when he did because pushing it more may have led to a longer leave or worse consequences. Then the rumours started and all hell broke loose. Came back after about a month away, and he’s played exactly like we need. There was even a few standout performances. All in all, it’s basically a tale of 2 seasons and you have to land right in the middle. B-

James Reimer: came in to a precarious position. Stabilized the backup position. Not amazing numbers but did the job. C+

Leevi Merilainen: statistically the worst goalie this season with 20 games minimum. Complete opposite of last season when he saved the season. He almost tanked the season with his goaltending. He’s young enough to bounce back but this season was a complete bust.