Ottawa Senators swept out of NHL playoffs by Carolina Hurricanes

A dejected Ottawa Senator Drake Batherson after Saturday's Game 4 loss. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Hurricanes 4, Senators 2

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The Ottawa Senators’ offence vanished, and their Stanley Cup playoff hopes went along with it.

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“It’s heartbreaking,” said captain Brady Tkachuk, fighting back tears in an empty Ottawa dressing room.

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The end came far too quickly as the Senators trudged quietly into the off-season after being swept out of the first round of the playoffs with four straight losses to the Carolina Hurricanes.

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The Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk dejected after losing Saturday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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The Senators’ season of hope came to a screeching halt with a 4-2 loss to the Hurricanes in Game 4 of the series in front of a raucous crowd of 18,793 at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday afternoon.

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Sebastian Aho scored with Ottawa’s net empty to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead, but Dylan Cozens pulled the Senators to within a goal with 1:41 left in the game. But Aho came right back 34 seconds later and scored his second into the empty net to finish the scoring.

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Drake Batherson also scored for the Senators, who had only four goals in four games in the series. The club went 1-for-21 with the power play, including 1-for-9 on Saturday.

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But the Hurricanes are just a better team in every way, shape and form.

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Nikolas Matinpalo is seen after the Game 4 loss. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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“There is not much to be said, to be honest,” said alternate captain Thomas Chabot, his voice cracking. “It’s not what we wanted.”

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It’s not what anybody in Ottawa wanted after the Senators had played incredible hockey down the stretch.

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“It’s a learning curve,” said Chabot. “It’s just all too fresh right now.”

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Logan Stankoven’s fourth goal of the series at 9:10 of the third on the power play gave the Canes the lead, and they never looked. That came with Tyler Kleven in the box, as Stankoven fired it into a wide-open net after a bounce off the boards.

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Battered blueline didn’t help

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The Senators were without their top defensive pairing of Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub.

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Sanderson suffered a concussion on a hit from Carolina forward Taylor Hall in the club’s 2-1 loss in Game 3. Zub left the series after hitting Seth Jarvis in Game 1 and hasn’t skated since.

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Dejected Ottawa Senators Carter Yakemchuk and Brady Tkachuk are seen after losing Saturday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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That meant rookie Carter Yakemchuk made his playoff debut in Game 4, and he picked up two assists. Injuries aren’t an excuse, but the club’s depth was tested big time.

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“We used 10 defencemen in four games in the series. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that,” said coach Travis Green.

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That’s why this was tough to swallow.

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“I talked to the team, and I thought we probably played a lot better than last year, even though we lost four in a row,” Green said. “It was a different series, and I think we’ve taken a lot of steps this year to have a lot of belief to hopefully compete for a Stanley Cup.

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The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Ottawa Senators four games straight. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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“That’s what we’re here for, and you don’t say that often when you lose 4-0, but after last year, I felt like we’ve taken some steps. This year, I feel like we’ve taken a lot more steps.”

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It will be hard for people in Ottawa to stomach that assessment, but down the road, fans may look at it that way.