The Ottawa Senators are on a roll thanks to three straight wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets. Those wins over Tampa and Florida have proven to be ever so important, because now, not only are the Senators a win away from clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2016, but they’ve managed to slide into the hunt for a spot in the top three in the Atlantic Division.

While overtaking the Toronto Maple Leafs for first place seems a bit out of the question, it’s still quite possible that they could pass one of the two Florida teams to get out of the wild card race, or even both to get home ice advantage. That also means that who they play in the playoffs is also wide open, as it could be any one of Toronto, Tampa or Florida.

But who should the Senators prefer to play in the playoffs? Brent Wallace joined Daily Faceoff Live for their All 32 segment to talk about his pick for the Sens’ playoff opponent, and why he likes that matchup.

Brent Wallace: I don’t like Florida. I think Florida’s way too big for Ottawa to handle at the moment. I think obviously being the defending Stanley Cup champions, if they get everybody back healthy and ready to go, I think they’re a tough out for Ottawa.

I don’t mind Tampa as much, although they’ve got those veterans, Vasilevskiy in goal and John Cooper, who I think is completely underrated as a coach. I don’t like Tampa as much as I would [the Leafs] if I’m an Ottawa Senator player.

Give me the Leafs. Give me the carnage that may ensue and the pressure that’s all on Toronto. Toronto has to win this series, without question. And Ottawa’s just going to come in and sit back and play the game. Aside from it being the Battle of Ontario, I just want to see what happens if Toronto gets down three games to one.

You can watch the full episode here…

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