As Hurricanes and Senators prepare for their first-round playoff battle in a few days, Brind'Amour described Ottawa as a tough matchup.
One of the Ottawa Senators' mottos this season has been to ignore the outside noise, focus on the game in front of them, and tend to the things they can control. That will surely be put to the test in a big way on Wednesday night during their regular-season finale against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
While Wednesday's game means nothing, the next one means everything.
So it won't be easy to keep players' minds from wandering toward Game 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Senators' playoff run will begin, as we learned on Tuesday night, with a best-of-seven first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, the top seed in the East. When Boston defeated New Jersey 4-0 on Tuesday, the Bruins clinched the top wild card, leaving WC2 confirmed for the Sens.
When asked this week about their opponents, the two men who will run the Ottawa-Carolina series benches both expressed respect for the teams they're about to battle.
When describing the Sens, Rod Brind'Amour didn't sound at all like a man summarizing an eighth seed.
"Yeah, that's a tough matchup," Brind'Amour told the media on Tuesday night. "They all are at this time of year moving forward here, but that's one of the better teams, in my opinion, in the NHL. They had a kind of a tough start to their season and some interesting things going on, but they've got it covered top to bottom.
"So, it's gonna be a huge challenge."
After the Senators defeated the 'Canes 6-3 earlier this month, Carolina forward Taylor Hall seemed to see this matchup coming.
“That’s a playoff team,” Hall told the media. “I don’t know if they’re going to make the playoffs, but that’s a team that plays playoff hockey, and it’s a good test for what we’re going to see. They have that desperation, and we’re going to have to match that in a couple weeks.”
Following Wednesday's game day skate, Senators head coach Travis Green was asked for his two cents on the upcoming series and was equally complimentary of the Hurricanes.
"They're a good team," Green said. "Been a good team for a long time. A lot of playoff experience. You know, I think we talk a lot about knowing our game here and understanding our game. I think they're a good example of knowing how they play and how they get to their game. It's an aggressive game they play. Two teams that have a lot of similarities in their game.
"Looking forward to the matchup."
Along with being the second-best team in the entire NHL, Carolina has an undeniably large advantage in playoff experience. While the Sens' young (ish) core finally got its first taste last spring, the ‘Canes are making their eighth straight playoff appearance, a run that’s included three Conference Finals.
Green was asked about his team now having at least some postseason experience.
"That's better than not having it," Green said. "Experience doesn't just automatically mean that you win a series, and doesn't mean you lose a series. They're going to have a lot more experience than us. But I think just playing last year is going to definitely help us.
"I thought last year we were a little nervous at the start of the series and worked our way into it and played a lot better the last four and a half games.
"But it's a new year. That's behind us. We're looking forward to this year."
For the record, no team is ever going to trash their upcoming playoff opponent, but despite being a 1 vs 8 matchup, this really does seem like a battle of two quality teams that are both capable of going a long way.
The 'Canes won the 2025-26 season series, 2-1. Both teams have had up-and-down goaltending this season, and as it often is this time of the year, that may be one area that makes or breaks this series.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
Through All The Noise, The Playoff-Bound Senators Held Their Ground
Drake Batherson's Eight-Year Career Climb Is One For The NHL History Books
Senators Announce Plans For 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff Ticket Sales This Week
Shane Pinto Isn’t Just In The Selke Conversation… He Should Be One Of The FavouritesGreat Opportunities: The Rise Of Senators Defenseman Jordan Spence