Ullmark has been out of Ottawa's lineup since Dec. 22 when he left a game after one period of play in Edmonton with back tightness. It sounded precautionary at the time but turned out to be reasonably serious. This is Ullmark's second stint on the injury list. He missed a couple of weeks of action back in mid-October.

Kicking off a busy end-of-January stretch for both teams, the Ottawa Senators host the Boston Bruins in a key Saturday afternoon clash of clubs on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble.

Knocking on the door along with Ottawa are perennial Atlantic Division also-rans Montreal and Detroit. Also in the Eastern Conference mix are the Columbus Blue Jackets, who hopped over the Bruins in the standings on Thursday and are everyone’s sentimental favorite in this surprise run after the Johnny Gaudreau tragedy last summer.

Sometimes divorces end in happiness for both partners. That’s what happened with the Ottawa Senators and Jakob Chychrun, who are separately thriving this season, writes Alex Adams.

It’ll be baptism by fire for Ottawa Senators defenceman Donovan Sebrango on Thursday night. Sebrango will make his NHL debut, jumping right into the heat of the NHL Eastern playoff chase. Not only will it happen in his hometown, with family and friends cheering him on, it will be against Alex Ovechkin and the league-leading Washington Capitals.

Merilainen, who played for Allen of the ECHL and Belleville of the American Hockey League in 2023-24 and began this season as the Senators' fourth-string goaltender, is the second goalie in Ottawa history, joining Andrew Hammond, to record multiple shutout wins in his first 10 NHL games.

Belleville Senators forward Tyler Boucher, Brantford Bulldogs 20-year-old Tomas Hamara (who is signed) and big Finnish defenseman Eerik Wallenius were also considered for the fourth tier and are comparable prospects to the final four players ranked.

You can debate which of the Senators’ needs — a scoring forward, another defenceman, possibly some goaltending help — is more pressing but the recent skid, about two months before the trade deadline, has amplified the need for general manager Steve Staios to make a move.

The Ottawa Senators should stick with the hot hand on Tuesday night against the New York Islanders. Coming off back-to-back wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Dallas Stars on the weekend ...

After a sluggish start to the 2024-25 season, the Ottawa Senators have straightened themselves out a bit and have put themselves firmly in the playoff race. There is still a lot of hockey to play ...

Chychrun returned to Ottawa this week as the top-scoring defenceman on the top team in the NHL and reflected on his time with the Senators.