Two days remain in the NHL’s regular season, but its already decided which teams will battle it out in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

The Boston Bruins‘ 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday locked in the four series.

Here are the matchups:

Carolina Hurricanes (Metro 1) vs. Ottawa Senators (WC 2)

Pittsburgh Penguins (Metro 2) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (Metro 3)

Buffalo Sabres (Atlantic 1) vs. Boston Bruins (WC 1)

Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic 2) vs. Montreal Canadiens (Atlantic 3)

The Bruins’ win set up a battle with the Atlantic Division-winning Buffalo Sabres, while forcing the Senators into a confrontation against the Metropolitan Division-winning Hurricanes.

Ottawa and Carolina have never met in the playoffs.

Head coach Travis Green said recently that the two teams have similar playing styles. Carolina’s goaltending has wavered of late, and Linus Ullmark’s been playing his best hockey. Ottawa has more than a fighting chance.

But getting here, it has been a lot of ups and downs.

The voyage this season was treacherous for the Senators, filled with bouts of goalie troubles, public statements, and “white noise” laced with perpetual drama and non-stop injury reports.

There were distractions all along the way: the controversy surrounding Team USA at the Olympics and the political tensions that went with it; Keith Tkachuk’s comments on his son’s podcast; and the unsavoury social media rumours that led the Senators to issue a public statement to defend their goalie Linus Ullmark.

“I think you look back at the year, a lot of ups and downs, but again, it’s really a long year,” said defence Jake Sanderson.

The “Pesky Sens” are back, but unlike previous iterations, this team might not just be pesky; it could be scary. It is the first time since the 2011-13 era that the Ottawa Senators have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

Analytics aren’t everything, but they tell a story. The Senators are top five in expected goals share, shot differential, scoring chances and high-danger chances differential at 5-on-5. Ottawa sits eighth in goals per game.

The playoffs start April 18.