Senators welcome pressure to make playoffs down the stretch

As the NHL regular season winds down, the Ottawa Senators have one goal on their mind — get into the playoffs.

With just 10 games remaining the Senators (39-28-5) are in a good spot sitting in the first wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference with an eight-point lead on their competition.

Don't expect the Senators to ease up. After seven years without a playoff appearance, this group is hungry to finally experience post-season hockey.

“Teams are playing well, obviously teams are pushing, so everyone’s going to bring a good game every night,” said Ottawa’s Shane Pinto. “So, obviously, you have to be on your toes.”

With games scheduled nearly every other day down the stretch, the Senators won’t have much time to dwell on highs or lows — they just need to stay focused on the task at hand.

With so few of his young players having playoff experience, coach Travis Green has liked what he’s seen from his team of late, especially in a 3-2 win over the hungry Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, who are chasing the Senators in the standings.

“It felt close to a playoff game (on Saturday),” said Green. “Obviously, the crowd was awesome and it was a good effort. I thought our details were sharp, I thought our energy was good.”

The Senators play Columbus twice more and the four points up for grabs could be huge for both teams.

The Blue Jackets are battling with four other teams for the final wild card and know they’ll need to make the most of the last two meetings against Ottawa.

“It’s a good team,” admitted Zach Werenski of the Blue Jackets. “They’re fighting for the playoffs as well and didn’t give us much (Saturday) but I liked our effort and I feel like we can learn from it and we have them two more times. We’ll learn from it and get ready for them the next time.”

The Blue Jackets challenged the Senators late in the game, looking for the equalizer, but Ottawa withstood the pressure.

“I think throughout the next 10 games here there’s gonna be a lot of intense moments like that,” said Ridly Greig. “So, we’re getting used to it and, you know, it’s fun. It’s a lot of fun to be out there.”

The Senators have benefited from their depth down the stretch.

Green has moved captain Brady Tkachuk to a line with Pinto and Greig and the trio are playing hard and fast.

The acquisition of Dylan Cozens at the trade deadline has proven extremely beneficial. Cozens has found instant chemistry playing between Drake Batherson and David Perron.

“That whole line has played well,” Green said. “They’re really playing connected. It looks like they’re forming, gelling together and they know where each other is.

"They also know, I guess, where their bread is buttered. They’re heavy bodies, they want to play down low. They protect pucks well and as you get deeper into the year those are important areas.”