The Ottawa Senators are set to face the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, kicking off their quest for the franchise’s first championship. Doing so will require the Sens to take down four different opponents in a playoff series, and with two potential opponents in the 2nd round, four in the 3rd round, and eight in the Final, there are more paths to a Cup than there are atoms in the known universe.

Just kidding, there are only 64, which makes it fairly easy to string together this piece right before the games become meaningful again.

Every NHL season has a story, and some lift off the page better than others. If the Ottawa Senators are the protagonists, which four antagonists would comprise the most compelling story? What would a perfect playoff look like?

Round 1: Upset

Readers can expect a more comprehensive series preview tomorrow, but strictly from a narrative perspective, the Hurricanes are the perfect opponent to get the ball rolling. They mirror the Sens in many ways – both dominate on the shot clock, both favour structure and team depth over star power, and both have had goaltending woes at different parts of the season. The experience factor here is where the Senators’ underdog status is cemented. They’re not completely new to this “being good” concept, but the Hurricanes have been contenders for seven years – albeit no Finals appearances.

A Senators victory here would not only laminate the “choker” label the Hurricanes have, but considering many of the analytical models that praise their performance, also do the same for Ottawa (albeit slightly less considering the odds of this series), it would allow the Sens to establish themselves as a Cup contender. MoneyPuck currently has their Cup odds as 9th-highest in the NHL in spite of Carolina’s being 2nd – so they’re one upset away from potentially skyrocketing.

Round 2: Revenge

Many including myself see the Atlantic side of the East bracket a tougher path, with three 100-point teams. We’ll get to them eventually, but first things first, there’s a furious battle of Pennsylvania taking place between two teams that were expected by most to miss the playoffs.

Between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, there’s no contest as to who’d make for a more entertaining opponent.

Claude Giroux vs. Sidney Crosby. Erik Karlsson facing off against the team that drafted him. Most importantly however, is the less-than-stellar track record the Sens have in the playoffs against Pittsburgh. The last time the Sens took down the Pens in a series, they went to the Stanley Cup Final. Since then, four straight series losses, with Pittsburgh being the heavy favourite each time. For the first time since 2007, the Senators would be the favourites based on the standings, giving them the perfect opportunity for revenge.

Round 3: Bloodbath

I’m glad we won’t have to deal with Habs fans until the third round of the playoffs, but come on. How could you *not* want a Conference Final between these two teams? Ottawa and Montreal have met in the playoffs twice before, with Paul MacLean and Jean-Gabriel Pageau fighting for custody of Michel Therrien in 2013, and Carey Price cementing himself as the best goalie of the decade with his halting of the Hamburglar Run in 2015.

This time around, both clubs are the strongest they’ve been in years, yet play opposite styles and are built very differently. Montreal edges out Ottawa in terms of star power at the top of the lineup, as well as rush offence, while Ottawa features the better depth and defensive system while preferring to generate chances off sustained offensive zone pressure. A sweep would be ideal, but so long as we see a 5-0 line brawl, a hat-trick from an unlikely hero, a controversial soccer goal, and a timeout with 10 seconds left in a blowout win, a victory in any number of games would be appreciated.

Round 4: Final Boss

Of the potential West coast opponents that could assume the role of the final boss, the Anaheim Ducks were considered right away – sign me up for a rematch of the 2007 Final, 20 years in the making.

An all-Canadian Final against the Edmonton Oilers would also go extremely hard, as while we’re kind of sick of them, it would split the nation down the middle, with East and West coast rivals jumping on the opposing bandwagon.

Then, you’ve got Gary Bettman’s nightmare scenarios, with Ottawa taking on Utah or Minnesota, fellow clubs looking for their first Stanley Cup.

The Vegas Golden Knights, maybe?

OR COULD IT BE, THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND, FORMER OTTAWA SENATORS HEAD COACH D.J. SMIT-no, of course it’s Vegas. It was always Vegas, ever since those pricks whined to Papa Gary and sniped our first-round pick, at a time when the vibes around the Sens were already low. Using your preferential treatment to target a good hockey team, that’d be a dick move, but one I can respect. But the 2023-24 Ottawa Senators? Talk about beating a dead horse.

This wouldn’t just be a victory for Sens fans, because being a fan of Vegas, stays in Vegas. Nobody else likes them. But the cherry on top that makes this extra special for the Sens, would be rendering that punishment virtually inert. The league has already amended the punishment such that the Sens keep their pick this season, but it is untradeable and locked into 32nd overall. But winning the Cup? We’d be picking 32nd anyway, which means the temper tantrum thrown by the Golden Knights will have amounted to nothing at all, save for a small fine of a million dollars.

That would be the perfect end to a masterpiece…but I’m getting way ahead of myself here.

Because every series, every game, every shift, shot, block, 50/50 battle, is its own story. Scoring a power-play goal, losing a board battle, a defensive zone draw in the dying seconds of a game you’re winning, no matter how minute the detail, they all shape the final outcome. It’s fun to look ahead and visualize what could happen, but the Senators will only find success in the playoffs if they take it one step at a time, each one with more authority than the last.