Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener - Senators Heating Up… Are They Actually Dangerous?? w/TSN's Noodles | BB Clips

Episode Date: April 9, 2026

Boomer, Pinder and Rhett are joined by TSN’s Jamie “Noodles” McLennan to take a hard look at the Ottawa Senators as they hold down the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, heating up at exactly the right time. The guys debate whether this is just a late push or something real, and if the Sens could actually be a problem in the playoffs—especially with a likely matchup against the Hurricanes after just dominating them in their last meeting.Video Link: https://youtu.be/y0qavbkRqKQ#nhl #nhlshorts #nhlplayoffs #nhlpredictions #nhlhockey #nhlpicks #stanleycup #stanleycupfinal #ottawasenators #senators CHECK OUT OUR STUFF ⬇️BARN BURNER MERCHhttps://nationgear.ca/collections/shirts/FlamesnationBARN BURNER SHORTS https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj_bcGtvvo-cW2DHEDZ6dEO5ePDmlhZc9&si=jo8iNGxT4ImhS2Y8📲 Follow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fnbarnburner/X (Twitter): https://x.com/barnburnerfn?lang=en🎧 Listen on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/barn-burner-boomer-pinder-with-rhett-warrener/id1648562889Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mc6Qd5U22R2zbMlQ7RxIiProducer: Jack Haverstock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How good is Ottawa? You just said it. Their top defenseman, stud defensemen. A bunch of them. Out. Goaltending. Horseblee for a large portion of the season. And they're.

They're going to pace like 100 points. Sanderson's back, which is huge. Are they a cup contender that is almost, it's almost like, oh, can they squeak in? Or are they now making the statement to the rest of that car? conference going, look the F out, because here we come. I've said this all along. I've said it on the show.

I've always felt that Ottawa was the best team outside the playoff picture. And now they've pushed into the playoff picture and they can be dangerous. What happened last night, James? Like, 6-2 against the lightning. That's a statement game. Is it not? There's one one going in the third. Yeah.

Wow. So now, I'm sorry, Tampa didn't have Hagel. Tampa didn't have Sirelli. Just in Buffalo. Tampa didn't have So they're missing stuff And they started their backup, Jerry Johansson. What a name.

No, it's Yonith. No, we like Jerry. I love that. Jerry's so much better. He was the agent. So anyways, the point being, Ottawa, they're a dangerous team

because when they get to their game, Travis Green always says this in his media. when we get to our game, we like how we play. They are systematically really strong. They check in all three zones. They're physical, they're fast,

and they're skilled now. And you throw in, yes, they were missing Thomas Shabbat, Jake Sanderson, Nick Jensen, I mean, Tyler Cleven, those are four of their top 4D.

I guess Artem Zood was said that. Top five. But Sanderson comes back, he's an absolute, I mean, he's going to, I say this, I think he's going to win a Norris at some point. He's that good of a player. I remember Travis telling me that this guy cared more about checking that he did about the offensive game. And when he put the two together, it's, it's going to be another level. The only comparison I have for him, and I know it's unfair, he reminds me so much of Scott Needamire. It's not how he can control a game, how he's skating is effortless,

and now he realizes how good he is. I see him turn the corner and cut to the net now. That play on the drive to the net? Yeah. It's not, it's not, you don't have Ret Warner there with a two by four that's going to cross-check you in the chin. It's, that's not as dangerous a spot anymore as it used to be. So these guys go there.

Brady Kachuk is a beast. Tim Stutzler is a superstar. Like he's found at another level. He had 90 points a couple years ago. He was a 20-year-old. I think 21-year-old. Yeah. But he knows how good he is.

And he's got some German bite to his game. A lot. He's got some dry saddle in him. Like he's involved physically and he's in there. And they've got a team. They're still in Cousins. Ridley, Greg. Dude, down in the middle,

you go Stutzla, cousins, Pinto, Greg. Like, there's not a lot of teams that can roll four centers like that. No. And they've found, they found because Lars Eller is there that they pushed Greg to the wing. Another center. They've got, you know, they've got depth there. And what they did, sneaky little move, but like Fogel, what they did is they had David Perron there, 37-year-old winger, good shooter, good on the power play and that.

But they brought in a natural penalty killer. Fogel was a great skater, heavy, straight line player, and he can score. So they just sneaky little moves. The other one's Jordan Spence noodles. I want you to talk about him because they are missing him big time in L.A. They went and paid Cody C.C., who still isn't good, and gave away Jordan Spence, who's making peanuts. And that one move alone might be the difference between L.A. making and not making the players.

They are so slow on the back end once you get behind like Brant Clark. Yeah, that Spence is a player. He's a great scare. Now, here's a prime example of what we're talking about. It took Spence a while to learn how to play in Travis Green's system and to earn the coach's trust. Because early on, Spence had, there was four or five games where Ottawa should be higher in the standings where they gave at least a point away at the end of the game.

Anders Lee pushed Spence off the puck. I think it was in October. One-on-one battle pushed him off, went in and scored. that was with like a minute left in the game. You know, Tyler Cleven made a mistake in Dallas. They gave away a point with 28 seconds left, the tie game or they end up losing instead of getting the... They've done that like four or five times this year. But the young players have found another level.

Spence is playing with a lot of confidence. He's a really great skater, and he's learned how to now check because of Travis Green and his group. So he's a well-rounded defenseman. And he's now, he's a top four guy. and they've got to find a top four spot for them. They will. They've got some depth there and that. They've got this Yakumtrup kid who's up.

Unfortunately, got him. He looks good. He looks like he's going to be a player. So they've got some things there. So, Rhett, coming back to your question, I think they can make some noise in the playoffs if they sneak in and they get the goals. They saves.

I said it two days ago. I was watching that game against Carolina. The hurricanes were underwater. at times against the senators. They were just all over them. Yeah. They're fast. Carolina does too.

And that's exactly. Rod Brindamore, there's a way that Carolina plays. And if Carolina has a kryptonite, it's, it's, Ottawa plays the same way. Just bigger. And then they got, you know, not separating skill, because I, I think, Ah, Ah, you know, Svetchnikov, the little guy they got from Dallas. Stankov and, yeah.

And Coven. Like, they've got some. skill there. Taylor Hall's still playing pretty high-level hockey, but Taylor Hall came out after the game and said that he said about Ottawa. That team's dangerous.