As the Ottawa Senators begin a four-game homestand, they’ll have their hands full on Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, the second-place team in the Eastern Conference and third place overall.
The Senators will be trying to shake off a difficult loss in Nashville on Thursday night, where they fell 5–3 to the Predators after surrendering a two-goal lead for the third time in four games.
Those performances, coming at a time when the Senators were already out of room for error, have sparked plenty of discussion over the past 48 hours about whether the team needs to make some kind of change to try and jump-start its extremely long-shot playoff hopes.
The Senators did make a change on Saturday, albeit a small one. With the penalty kill continuing to struggle in Nashville, head coach Travis Green has shifted control of the unit from Nolan Baumgartner to Mike Yeo.
“That’s not a knock against Baumer,” Green said. “He’s an excellent coach and he’s done a great job with our defencemen. The penalty kill hasn’t gone the way we’ve wanted, and that’s not just on him. Ultimately, the players have to get the job done, but a new voice might give a spark, give a different look, a different voice.”
Green said the changes to the penalty kill won’t be major and believes the unit could easily be in better shape than it is.
“There have been some goals we haven’t liked, and that goes back to the players' blown coverages where a guy doesn’t make the right play,” Green said. “We’ve also got some young penalty killers who are a work in progress. But we’ve got to right the ship.”
Given that the penalty kill has struggled all season, it’s fair to wonder why this move, or any move, wasn’t made earlier, when there was still a more realistic chance to save the season. Green leaned on a familiar explanation.
“I think there’s been a lot of learning with our group,” Green said. “I’ve seen improvement in our penalty kill. We haven’t gotten the results, but I’ve liked a lot of what we’ve seen. We felt a different voice might help as a sounding board. Mike’s done it for a long time as well. Our coaching staff collaborates on everything; this isn’t a one-man show in any area. We’ll see how it goes.”
The other change for Saturday night’s game against the Hurricanes is Nick Jensen being a healthy scratch in favour of Nick Matinpalo. Jensen turned the puck over while retrieving it in his own end, leading to Nashville’s game-winning goal with just over a minute remaining on Thursday. In fairness, the Sens had forwards standing around in the neighbourhood who were in a position to help Jensen by defending the front of Ottawa's net, and they just didn't.
Matinpalo will be playing just his second game since November 29. The only game he’s appeared in so far in 2026 was an 8–2 loss in Colorado.
James Reimer will get the start in goal for the Senators, who enter play seven points out of a wild-card spot and ten points back of the Atlantic Division’s top three teams.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
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