Bold opening: The real story isn’t just who can score more—it’s which team can finally steal a save when it matters most.
Oilers Game Notes: Senators in Edmonton for a high-stakes battle where goaltending may decide the winner
The Edmonton Oilers wrapped up a California swing with one win and two losses and are back home briefly before hitting the road again after Friday’s trade deadline.
Ottawa Senators vs. Edmonton Oilers
- Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026
- Start Time: 7:00 PM MT
- Location: Edmonton, Alberta
- Venue: Rogers Place
- Watch: Sportsnet
1) Ottawa’s recent form and playoff push: Since returning from the Olympic break, the Senators have earned three points in two games. They dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Detroit at home, then bounced back with a 5-2 road win over Toronto. Ottawa sits at 29-22-8 (12th in the Eastern Conference). They’re five points behind Boston for the second wild-card spot, but teams like Philadelphia, Columbus, and Washington sit between them and that line. The margin is tight, and time is running out.
Key players: Tim Stützle has led the charge with 28 goals and 63 points in 59 games. He skated alongside Leon Draisaitl at the Olympics and remains Ottawa’s top scorer. Drake Batherson is second with 21 goals and 51 points, and defenseman Jake Sanderson has tallied 48 points from the blue line. Captain Brady Tkachuk has 39 points in 39 games after a thumb injury sidelined him for a stretch. Ottawa’s scoring numbers are solid (11th in the league at 3.29 goals per game and 8th on the power play at 23.6%), but the problem has been stopping goals in net.
Net receipts: Despite strong underlying metrics in shots and scoring chances, Ottawa ranks 21st in goals allowed. A carousel of five goaltenders has combined for a .874 save percentage and a staggering minus-32.9 goals saved above expected. Linus Ullmark, a former Vezina finalist, has a .885 save percentage and minus-9.0 goals saved above average over 32 games. In short, Ottawa has generated chances and kept pressure on opponents, but the saves haven’t followed.
2) Edmonton’s position and recent history: The Oilers have owned this matchup in recent years. Since sweeping Ottawa in the 2021 shortened season, Edmonton is 15-2-1 against the Senators. A Tuesday win would push Edmonton toward their fourth season-series sweep over Ottawa in six years. The latest meeting resulted in a 3-2 Oilers overtime win in October, with Jake Walman scoring the winner for Ottawa in that game. Ottawa’s last win in this series came in March 2024.
3) California trip wrap and the blue line upgrade: During their three-game California trip, the Oilers scored 17 goals but managed only one win. Their only victory came in an 8-1 beatdown of the struggling Los Angeles Kings—their largest margin of victory this season. Losses came 6-5 to the Ducks and 5-4 to the Sharks, two rising, young teams. In reaction, GM Stan Bowman acquired defenseman Connor Murphy from Chicago to shore up Edmonton’s back end. This marks the second time Bowman has traded for Murphy, who was a first-round pick in 2011 by the Coyotes and later moved to Chicago for Niklas Hjalmarsson.
4) Connor Murphy’s arrival and role: At nearly 33, Murphy steps in as a veteran presence on Edmonton’s blue line. The 6-foot-4 right-handed blueliner has 805 NHL games under his belt, plus notable postseason experience in the 2020 bubble. In 60 games for Chicago this year, he’s contributed 13 points and averages 16:34 of ice time, primarily in defensive scenarios. It remains to be seen whether he’ll debut against Ottawa or await a later tilt. When he does play, expect him to pair with Darnell Nurse, who has lacked a consistent partner this season. Nurse has often skated with Jake Walman on the off side or rookie Alec Regula, who recently cleared waivers.
5) What the Oilers are saying and what to watch: Head coach Kris Knoblauch stresses that the issue isn’t one player, but a combination of factors. He notes improvement in defending off the rush since the Olympic break and ongoing challenges in the defensive zone due to miscues. Defenceman Mattias Ekholm emphasizes a balance between systems discipline and mindset—defending is about the will to protect the net as much as any schematic tweak. Edmonton sits in a wild-card position with 21 games left and cannot afford a late-season slide into a first-round clash with a heavyweight like Colorado or Vegas.
Bottom line: Tuesday’s game is a reset opportunity at home against a capable Ottawa squad that can score. Edmonton can score too, but the deciding factor may well be which team gets the timely saves when it matters most.
Final note: This matchup is more than a shootout; it’s a test of who can tighten the gaps and hold the fort when the pressure rises.
And now a provocative thought: If Edmonton finds a way to stabilize its own zone and improve goaltending, could Ottawa’s defense and goaltending issues still give them a path to an upset? Has the league overvalued goaltending depth at the expense of defensive structure? Share your take in the comments: do you lean on improved goaltending or smarter defense to win tight games like this?
