The Ottawa Senators penalty kill has struggled mightily all season long. If they miss the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, it will be a huge reason why. The Ottawa Senators have reversed their fortunes slightly lately with victories over the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, but still have a long way to go if they want to make the playoffs in 2026. There have been a multitude of issues throughout the season that have plagued them, with goaltending coming to the forefront recently. However, one facet of their game has been just as much to blame, the penalty kill.

Discussing the 2025-26 Ottawa Senators Penalty Kill

For months, the Senators’ penalty kill has been a lingering sore spot. Head coach Travis Green has been lamenting about it’s ineffectiveness since October and again recently, it has cost them. It’s been a year of plenty of multi-goal leads being blown as a result of missed assignments, failed clears, and just overall chaos.

Eventually something had to be done, and the Senators did so by removing penalty killing responsibilities from one assistant coach to adding it to another. Mike Yeo took over for Nolan Baumgartner in a move that spoke to just how dire the situation is. If the Senators are going to carry over whatever momentum they built from the last two games, the penalty kill will have to vastly improve.

The Kill Has Been the Killer

The numbers are not good, to say the least. The Senators are currently third last in the league in penalty kill percentage which is not a recipe for winning many hockey games. A team can get by without a good power play for stretches, but no team can sustain a penalty kill that bad over the course of an entire year.

A perfect example was a recent game against the Nashville Predators. The Senators has a 3-0 lead late in the second period before a couple of penalties sent the game off the rails. Poor clearing attempts by Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto resulted in a pair of goals against.

Credit Image: © Alex Cave/ZUMA Press Wire

Then in the third period, some confusion as the Senators moved from their shorthanded formation back to even strength lead to a transition goal before a cross-seam pass got through to Steven Stamkos on the power play and tied the game. In a week-long stretch, the Senators blew three multi-goal leads and allowed six goals while shorthanded, that’s not including goals scored immediately after penalty kills that are technically even strength goals. Moral of the story, when your penalty kill is that bad, it can swing momentum drastically which leads to losing games and dropping key points in the standings.

The Underlying Numbers

When you look at the Senators’ analytics on the penalty kill, they don’t indicate that it should be as bad as it appears at first glance. They rank up near the top of the league when it comes to expected goals while shorthanded and only allowed 0.42 expected goals against Nashville while shorthanded.

While this is true, it doesn’t capture the full picture. Blown coverages right in front of the net have been a massive issue as is guys getting left alone on the back door. If you look at some of the recent power play goals against, they have come as a result of opposing players roaming freely into high danger shooting areas and having way too much time to make plays, both on the boards and in front of the net.

A Change in Strategy

The Senators have not done much tactically despite getting the same poor results. They do what most teams do by operating out of the diamond formation while occasionally switching to a hybrid box. The issue has obviously been execution and maintaining it consistently. 

Early in the year, the Senators were too passive on the penalty kill and now they’ve course corrected a bit too much. They’ve become too over aggressive and are now too prone to chasing and getting themselves out of position and have also been unable to bear down and get clears at key times.

This is where Yeo’s expertise comes in. He has a ton of experience when it comes to implementing defensive systems and his promotion is indicative of the team’s desire and need for change. They are certainly relying on him to correct some of the details that have eluded them and prevent things from going off the rails further than they already have. Some might say this move came even a little late for their liking.

The Senators Need Improvement Now

Right now, the Senators have a much greater chance of missing the playoffs than making them. That’s not where the franchise hoped they would be at this point in the season. It is frustrating from a Senators point of view that even if their penalty kill was league average, they’d be in a much better spot than they are now.

That’s what they are hoping to get with this coaching change. Time is running out and the Senators cannot afford any more struggles. And even a hot stretch of play from now to the end of the regular season may not be enough given the amount of teams ahead of them. 

The penalty kill may very well play a huge role in the demise of the Senators this season but for the first time all season, something has finally changed. The Senators can only hope that the change is enough.

Main Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images