The Ottawa Senators can breathe a sigh of relief. After enduring a 3-5-2 stretch in March, the Senators have bounced back with four straight victories to earn a playoff spot. Even without Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, the Ottawa Senators were able to post a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday.
With two of the Senators’ top players gone, Kyle Turris picked up the slack. Turris scored two goals and registered two assists to give him eight points in his last four contests.
Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson registered an assist to extend his point streak to four games. He’s just two points shy of tying Nicklas Lidstrom’s all-time point record for Swedish blueliners with three games left in the Senators schedule.
For Ottawa these final three contests should be primarily about getting ready for the postseason. They can still finish as high as sixth or as low as eighth, but they will probably end up with the seventh seed. That means their first round opponent will almost certainly be the Boston Bruins. The two clubs have never played against each other in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Islanders have nothing left to play for other than personal pride. Their matchup against the Devils has little significance, even to New Jersey. Beyond that they will play against two other squads that won’t be making the playoffs: Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets.