The Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings all had the same goal this season.

They wanted to rise in the Atlantic Division and end lengthy playoff droughts as the first step toward becoming a perennial post-season team. The Sabres failed again, while the Red Wings are on pace to miss again.

The Senators, however, are poised to accomplish that goal. In fact, they're 99.5 percent likely to make the playoffs, according to moneypuck.com.

The Boston Bruins fell out of a playoff position in the Atlantic, while the New York Rangers and New York Islanders are currently out of a spot in the Metropolitan Division. The New Jersey Devils filled in one of those open spots in the Metro, and there’s a tight battle for the second wild-card spot in the East.

Ottawa more or less has the first wild-card spot secured, while the Montreal Canadiens leapfrogged the Sabres and Red Wings in the standings. When comparing the Senators with the Sabres and Red Wings, however, there are clear differences that show how Ottawa’s making it work right now.

The biggest difference is limiting goals against them. The Senators’ improved defense is key to their turnaround, while the Sabres and Red Wings continue to struggle in that department.

Last season, the Sens allowed 3.43 goals against per game, ranking them 28th in the NHL. This year, they’re 13th overall, at 2.84 goals against per game.

You can’t say the same about Detroit (22nd overall, 3.18) or Buffalo (29th, 3.56). The same goes for team save percentages, where the Senators rank ninth at 0.901, compared to the Red Wings ranking 21st at 0.889 and the Sabres sitting 31st at 0.877, according to naturalstattrick.com. That’s a massive improvement for the Senators, which ranked 31st in save percentage last season at 0.885.

The Senators have used their speed and skill to be a harder team to play against, especially in their own zone with players like Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot. First-year coach Travis Green has clearly provided structure, discipline and confidence for the Sens.

Five First-Year Coaches Having Strong Impacts On Their NHL Teams If we’re going to talk about new NHL coaches doing good things this season, we probably shouldn’t look past our newest candidate. 

Senators GM Steve Staios brought on Green and made other significant changes to achieve these improvements.

“Overall, the rebalancing of that roster was absolutely key,” The Hockey News’ Ottawa-based Steve Warne said on The Big Show Tuesday.

He acquired star goalie Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins and re-jigged his defense corps to get blueliner Nick Jensen for the right side, even if it meant trading Jakob Chychrun.

“Jensen has been unbelievable, excellent shutdown defenseman, but he’s also made Thomas Chabot better,” Warne said.

NHL Rumor Roundup: Latest On The Senators And Red Wings Holding the Eastern Conference's first wild-card berth, the Ottawa Senators are close to securing their first trip to the post-season since 2017. Nevertheless, some fans and pundits are already pondering their potential off-season moves.

All combined, these changes have made Ottawa a more confident group, with the knowledge that when they do make noise in the offensive zone, their defense can hold the fort if something goes wrong and the play goes back into the Sens’ own zone.

Ottawa’s offense has actually dropped off a bit this year, going from 3.05 goals-for per game last season to 2.88. But they had a minus-26 goal differential last season compared to a plus-2 rating now. 

The Senators will have a tough go of it in the playoffs, as they’ll be playing against one of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round if they remain in the first wild-card spot.

Fortunately for them, strong defense is the very thing that leads to post-season success. If Ullmark and the defenders hold up their end of the bargain, and the Senators get a decent amount of offense, they will not only end their seven-season playoff drought but make noise in the post-season.

All the Sabres and, likely, the Red Wings can do is watch.

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.