Raise your hand if you thought an Erik Karlsson-less Ottawa Senators team would make it through the first five games of the season without a regulation loss. Not many out there, huh? Fresh off the franchise’s first-ever sweep of western Canada (the latter two wins coming in especially convincing fashion) the Senators are not only […]

Out to prove their run to the Eastern Conference Final last season wasn’t a fluke, the Ottawa Senators already have their backs against the wall. They could be without their leading scorer from last postseason in Erik Karlsson, as well as their fourth and seventh-leading scorers (Derick Brassard and Clarke MacArthur respectively) on opening night. […]

It’s at this point of the preseason that rosters begin to take near-regular season shape. For Guy Boucher and the Ottawa Senators, the hope was to ice lineups in their final two games against the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens that would resemble, in the closest possible terms, their opening night lineup. That their roster […]

It’s a little early to start parading down Elgin Street just yet, but with their 6-2 thumping of the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday night, the Ottawa Senators officially kicked off their preseason schedule with a bang. The veterans had a good showing, as Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone combined for five points while Dion Phaneuf […]

“This was not supposed to happen,” NHL on TSN host James Duthie declared on behalf of the hockey world. The target of his statement? The Ottawa Senators, aka the NHL’s forgotten team. The only squad to qualify for the 2017 postseason with a negative goal differential – albeit just a minus-two – playing an entirely […]

For the third consecutive year, some of the best analytical minds in the sport gathered in Ottawa for the annual hockey analytics conference on May 6. Although advanced stats have been slow to catch on with the majority of hockey fans, Saturday’s conference was further proof that there exists a small but passionate community dedicated […]

Ahead of the third annual Ottawa Hockey Analytics Conference, The Hockey Writers sat down with one of the guest speakers at the conference, hockey analytics pioneer Rob Vollman. An author of five books and a consultant with multiple NHL teams, we asked Vollman about how he got into hockey analytics and the advanced analytics movement […]

It was only 18 months ago that Clarke MacArthur’s career had seemingly met a certain end. With the prospects of him returning to hockey a longshot at best, the Ottawa Senators reluctantly accepted the fact their future plans would more than likely not include him. But then, in early April – after the medical staff […]

Erik Karlsson has officially put the NHL on notice. “It’s Erik Karlsson’s world and we’re all just living in it,” an Ottawa Senators blogger by the name of Bonk’s Mullet so eloquently noted on Twitter. It’s easy to see why Karlsson’s play would warrant such a reaction, with five points in four postseason games on […]

It’s amazing what a win can do for a team’s confidence. Down 3-1 to the Boston Bruins heading into the third period of Game 2, things looked bleak for the Ottawa Senators, who were suddenly lacking in confidence. Staring an 0-2 series deficit in the face, Dion Phaneuf led a furious Sens comeback with a […]

Mired in one of their worst slumps of the season, and with injuries piling up, the end of Boston College’s season – and thus, Colin White’s collegiate career – couldn’t have come at a better time for the Ottawa Senators. Losers of four straight and eight of their last 10, the Sens have stumbled their […]

There were few positives about Marc Methot’s gruesome injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It left him without a fingertip – and, on a related note, left many fans running for the toilet. It put the Ottawa Senators down a top-pairing defenceman and, as Eugene Melnyk so eloquently noted, Sidney Crosby went unpunished for the slash […]

Death, taxes and Erik Karlsson in the running for the Norris Trophy. There aren’t many guarantees in life, but it’s a pretty safe bet you’ll find Karlsson’s name in the top-three, if he doesn’t indeed win, when the Norris is handed out. This season has been no exception for the Ottawa Senators‘ superstar, who could […]

It’s not yet April, but you could forgive the Ottawa Senators for treating the next week with an intensity and desperation akin to the postseason. In those seven days (March 19 to 25), the Senators will face the Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens twice (having lost to them Saturday night), as well as the third-seeded Boston […]

They aren’t setting the league on fire, they don’t have much star power and they definitely don’t strike fear into the hearts of their opponents in the way some of the best do. But don’t tell that to the Ottawa Senators, who have forged their own path to success in 2016-17. The usual suspects – […]

After reading that headline you’re probably thinking Oh no, not again. And who could blame you? The Ottawa Senators, despite being one of the youngest franchises in the league, aren’t short on logos in their history. But if Sens President and CEO Tom Anselmi’s words are to be believed, the Sens could be looking at making […]

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety isn’t making too many friends these days. Their downhill slide started when they gave Brad Marchand – a repeat offender with a reputation as an over-the-line player – a measly fine for a dangerous slew foot. And things only got worse when they levied just a six-game suspension at […]

Unexpected. Unprecedented. Blockbuster. Those were just some of the terms used to describe the surprising trade that took place between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs just over a year ago. That two teams with as much history and animosity as the Sens and Leafs have would hook up for a trade is surprising […]

The Montreal Canadiens’ bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Ottawa Senators. The latter have won two in a row, including an impressive win against a hot New York Islanders team in their most recent game. The former have lost two in a row, seven of their last 10 and, in […]

Playing alongside a superstar, a face-of-the-franchise type of talent is a daunting task and one that would make it easy to blend into the scenery. But don’t tell that to Marc Methot, who has had a solid season without all the fanfare. In his fifth year with the Senators as Erik Karlsson’s partner on the […]