The Ottawa Senators on the time of writing have racked up simply 12 factors over the 13 video games they’ve performed so far within the 2024-25 season. That interprets to a factors share (PTS%) of .462 – adequate for the second final spot within the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division.
That’s not a file that comes anyplace near incomes them a berth within the playoffs subsequent spring. The Senators are unlikely to be one of many three groups within the division on the finish of the season who routinely punch their ticket to the playoffs. Even so, their followers hope they’ve a shot at securing a playoff wild card spot. But that received’t be simple, since traditionally, wild card groups have to have a PTS% of round .600.
Associated: Ottawa Senators Benefitting from Fortunate Bounces
So now could be the time for the Senators’ devoted to ask themselves what sort of efficiency they should see from their crew throughout the remainder of November to place them on observe to see playoff motion subsequent spring in Canadian Tire Centre.
NHL Standings at U.S. Thanksgiving Predict Playoff Contenders
The place NHL groups stand on the finish of November foreshadows their success, or lack thereof, for your entire season. Of the 240 groups to seek out themselves in a playoff spot at U.S. Thanksgiving because the 2005-06 season*, 184 have gone on to make the post-season the next spring. That’s a 76.7 % success charge. This statistic is why followers place laser-like deal with the place their groups stand when People begin deep frying turkey and Mars Bars.
(*This statistic doesn’t embody the 2019-20 or 2020-21 seasons, as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.)
By the point People had been giving thanks final season, the Senators had performed themselves out of playoff competition profitable simply eight of the 17 video games they performed in October and November for a disappointing .471 PTS%.
From what the Senators have delivered in October and into early November, might this season be completely different?
What Ottawa Senators Should Do in November to Win 2025 Wild Card Spot
At the least partially, the reply lies in how powerful the Senators’ schedule is from Nov. 8 till the top of the month.
The Senators have 10 video games remaining in November. These video games are evenly cut up between dwelling and away. Two of the video games they play on the highway are a part of a simple three-game swing by way of the Western Convention. For probably the most half, they’ll play a recreation each different day.
Even so, Ottawa’s schedule till the top of the month shall be maintaining their president of hockey operations and normal supervisor (GM) Steve Staios up at evening on condition that seven of the groups his squad will face had been playoff groups in 2024. Six of them are on a listing of groups that Las Vegas odds-makers stated at first of the season would make the 2025 Playoffs. Listed are the Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings.
Right here’s my tackle what the Senators face in the remainder of November:
| Senators’ Opponents from Nov. 8 – 30 | Chance of a Senators Win |
| Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks | Excessive |
| Oilers | 50/50 |
| Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, Golden Knights, Canucks, Calgary Flames, Kings | Low |
If this chart is true, then within the the rest of November, the Senators have three video games within the proverbial bag and one which they’ve a good shot at profitable. That’s 4 video games that needs to be in Ottawa’s win column. So, to hit their .600 PTS% goal, they’ll have to steal three or 4 video games from a gaggle of groups that features Toronto, Carolina, Vegas, Vancouver, Calgary and Los Angeles. That shall be no simple activity.
Can the Ottawa Senators Be a .600 Hockey Membership?
There’s no query that to win a wild card spot within the playoffs subsequent spring the Senators have to notch a PTS% of not less than .600. It’s not typically that groups accomplish that with a lot much less. That shall be a tall order for the Senators, who within the final 5 full seasons averaged a PTS% of simply .442.
Many pundits make the purpose that the Senators are an improved crew this season with seemingly all of the items in place to vie for a wild card spot. But their file suggests in any other case, standing as they do exactly two factors forward of the final place Montreal Canadiens.
But maybe what’s most regarding is that the Senators are shedding video games that they merely can’t. They embody an embarrassing loss to the lowly Habs of their second recreation of the season, and most just lately, two in a row to the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Islanders.
November Is Make or Break for Ottawa Senators Playoff Hopes in 2025
So far within the season, the Senators haven’t proven themselves to be a playoff contender. Whether or not they’re or not might reveal itself as November unfolds, simply because it has in shedding seasons previous.
