The Ottawa Senators will start April with more adversity.
Why not? It has been that way all season.
As the Senators prepare to open a five-game homestand against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre, there are more questions than answers with the club sitting two points out of the final wild-card spot with eight games left in the regular season.
Coming off an ugly 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers to close out March on a three-game losing skid, the Senators came apart at the seams in a game that was pivotal to get two points. They should be embarrassed by that effort, but have to move past it and turn the page.
Like they have all season, they let another opportunity slip away, but thankfully, the race for the final playoff spot in the East has turned into a turtle derby between the New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings and the Senators.
Will Jake Sanderson face the Sabres?
Already banged up on the blueline, the Senators took another hit when rookie defenceman Carter Yakemchuk had to be helped off the ice late in the third after an elbow to the head from Florida winger Noah Gregor.
Coach Travis Green had no update on Yakemchuk’s status after the game and the Senators didn’t skate on Wednesday. We’ll get a better update at Thursday’s morning skate, but it’s doubtful we’ll see Yakemchuk during this homestand if you judge by what we witnessed when he left the game.
The Senators are already without three of their top defencemen — Jake Sanderson (shoulder), Thomas Chabot (broken forearm) and Nick Jensen (knee surgery) — as the club makes a last gasp effort to make the playoffs for the second straight spring.
Sanderson resumed skating with the Senators in Florida, wearing a non-contact jersey, which was a step in the right direction.
But, by all accounts, it’s doubtful that he’ll be ready to face the Sabres after suffering the ailment against the Seattle Kraken on March 7. He could be ready to return against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Does the loss in Florida change the timetable for Sanderson? Anything is possible, but he needs to be cleared for contact to return and he wore a yellow jersey at Tuesday morning’s skate.
If Sanderson doesn’t face the Sabres, that means the Senators will have to recall defenceman Jorian Donovan — who suited up for two games with the club last week — from their American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville if Sanderson isn’t ready to play.
You can see that the loss of Sanderson, Chabot and Jensen is catching up with the Senators. We’ve been quick to praise the jobs done by Artem Zub, Tyler Kleven, Jordan Spence and Nikolas Matinpalo, but you can’t take those three guys out of the mix and not face some difficulties.
Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators controls the puck during a game against Philadelphia in March 2025. Sanderson has 44 points in 54 games this season.
Who starts in goal against the Sabres?
Linus Ullmark should make the start against Buffalo and the club’s next “biggest game of the year.”
The club’s top goaltender was pulled after allowing five goals on 16 shots and didn’t even last 15 minutes in the loss to the Panthers. Ullmark wasn’t any good, but neither were the players in front of him.
People are upset — and rightfully so — that Ullmark didn’t face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday to start the two-game trip because he needed “a rest” and wasn’t available, according to Green.
That decision has put the club’s goaltending under the microscope because the Senators didn’t have their best lineup in a 4-2 loss to the Bolts.
Delivering a stinker in Florida won’t help calm the waters of discontent surrounding Ullmark right now. He should be well rested because he only played 15 minutes of the club’s past two games and finished the night with a .680 save percentage.
Starting backup James Reimer against the Sabres would send the wrong message. Shockingly, we’re having this discussion.
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Nights like this one against Buffalo are why Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, acquired Ullmark from the Boston Bruins and signed him to a whopping four-year, $33-million US deal.
The Senators aren’t forking over $8.25 million this season to Ullmark to be a spectator down the stretch. This is an opportunity for him to quiet all the doubters and carry this team to the playoffs. That’s what top goaltenders in the National Hockey League do at this time of year.
If Ullmark is a spectator against the Sabres, then that should be a bigger cause for concern. Not starting him would cause more chaos and questions that the Senators don’t need right now.
It’s easy to say you ignore the “white noise,” but it’s hard to do that if you create it yourself.
This really shouldn’t be a debate, but here we are discussing the possibility of not playing the No. 1 goalie at the most pivotal part of the season.
Sometimes it’s just hard to make sense of it all, but not starting Ullmark against Buffalo makes no sense at all.