After winning their first two and losing their next four, the Ottawa Senators went 6-2-2 to finish the month with an 8-6-2 record. That’s 17th in the league in points percentage, and 6th in the Atlantic Division. They lost ground in the playoff race, but as is the case with every team that isn’t the New York Rangers, the door for a comeback is still open.
Key Stats (from NHL.com and NaturalStatTrick):One area in which the Senators stood out among their division rivals was through shot differential. They ranked 1st and 2nd in shots for and against (6th and 2nd league-wide), a trend that’s been fairly consistent the whole season.Miraculously, there is an Atlantic team that had worse goaltending than the Ottawa Senators last month – the 2x defending champs, the Florida Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky is cooked.Special teams have really let the club down – 20th on the PP, and 23rd on the PK is enough to stop even a dominant 5-on-5 team from making the playoffs. The good news is things turned around against the Devils on Saturday – 5/5 on the PK, and 2/3 on the power-play. In fact, ever since we hit rock bottom against Nashville, the Sens have allowed just one power-play goal in the last 4 games. There’s hope.The most wild stat of the bunch: despite having the 8th-best shooting percentage in the league during the last month, 5 of the 7 teams ahead of them are in the Atlantic. Good lord.Third Star of the Month: Tyler Kleven
Ever since the K-Train went off the rails and swan dove into the side of a cliff against the Minnesota Wild back in December, he’s been very steady alongside Jordan Spence on the third pairing. Those two played 168 minutes together in January, posting a 65% expected goals share at 5-on-5 while outscoring opponents 8-2. Spence has been great all season, but Kleven stands out a bit more as of late because of the major improvements we’ve seen from him compared to earlier in the year, doubling his point totals, and leading the blueline with a +7 rating.
Textbook hit from Tyler Kleven. Immediate response to Manson’s hit.
Just grabs the momentum right back. pic.twitter.com/puauVVElpO
— Jack Richardson (@jackrichrdson) January 29, 2026
Second Star of the Month: Jake Sanderson
If there’s one area in which Sanderson has vastly improved from last season, it’s his luck. His shooting percentage has more than doubled from last season, and he’s been on the ice for 45 Ottawa Senators goals at 5-on-5, four better than what we saw in 80 games last season. Despite only 2 goals in January, 15 assists sees him at above a point-per-game pace in the month, ranking 6th league-wide among defensemen.
First Star of the Month: Ridly Greig
Even if the Senators aren’t able to mount a comeback and make the playoffs this year, Greig’s recent play is holding me back from calling it a lost season. It’s no secret that in spite of some of the best center depth in the league, Ottawa’s outlook on the wings is pretty bleak. However, Greig appears to have transformed from a weapon of mass destruction, into a weapon of mass destruction that’s also good at hockey. 5 goals, 7 assists, and a +12 rating in 16 games, as a winger on his off side with Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Cozens, a trio that’s outscored opponents 7-2 with a 64% expected goals share. All of a sudden, a $3.25M cap hit for the next three seasons is looking like one of the best deals Steve Staios has done. Despite not being as impactful as Sanderson, Greig’s newfound presence as a top-six winger is definitely the biggest storyline in the month of January, and his maintaining that level of play would be massive for the Senators’ short and long-term success.
Ridly Greig is playing the best hockey of his life right now.
— Alex Adams (@alexadamsBTP_) January 29, 2026
Honourable Mention: Linus Ullmark
Ullmark’s return to the lineup on Saturday was memorable for all the right reasons. While we shouldn’t expect .960 goaltending from him for the rest of the season, consider that the Sens have a 15-8-5 record (102-point pace over a full season) in spite of an .884 save percentage. Linus’ top priority should be his well-being, so I’m not putting expectations on his numbers, but on any given night in which he happens upon a .900 save percentage or better – we shouldn’t simply hope for a Sens victory, we should expect it.
February Preview:
Because of the Olympics, the Senators only play 5 games in February, starting tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins, followed by Carolina and Philadelphia, and then Detroit and Toronto after the break. You’re ideally looking to win 3 of 5 at the very least, with the back-to-back in Raleigh being the one game in which the club can realistically expect to struggle.
Every team in the league is capable of going on a massive run – Buffalo winning 10 straight, Columbus being on a 9-1-0 stretch. There’s no reason why the Senators can’t do the same.