The Ottawa Senators have clinched a National Hockey League Stanley Cup playoff spot in 2026. The Senators booked their ticket on Saturday after beating the New York Islanders 3-0 and with the New Jersey Devils upsetting the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 5-3.
The Senators moved into fourth place in the Atlantic Division with the win. They are tied with the Boston Bruins with 96 points. Ottawa has the tiebreaker as they have 37 regulation wins and the Bruins have 31 regulation wins. Boston, which lost 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, also clinched a playoff spot on Saturday thanks to the Devils win. However, the Bruins are ice cold at the moment, as they are losers of five straight games.
This is the second straight year the Senators have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They made the playoffs by finishing in fourth place in the Atlantic Division after the 2025 NHL regular season, but lost in six games to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round.
Ottawa is one of two Canadian teams from the Eastern Conference that have qualified for the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The other are the Montreal Canadiens, who are tied for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning. They both have 104 points.
