The Senators head into Monday night with something worth protecting: a fast start that has put them at 4-1-0 and banked eight of a possible 10 points, even with key injuries hanging over the lineup. Their next test comes at Prudential Center against a Devils team that has also found its footing after a rocky stretch.
Ottawa arrives off a win that said plenty about the group’s resolve. The Senators needed a comeback and got one Saturday in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Nashville Predators, a game that turned after more than 22 minutes without a shot on goal and a 2-0 deficit.
Tim Stützle started the rally with a power-play goal, Drake Batherson tied it late with 1:23 left in regulation, and Stützle then scored again in the shootout. Shane Pinto finished the job with the deciding shootout goal.
Pinto has been Ottawa’s most productive player through five games, with four goals and eight points. Linus Ullmark has been every bit as important at the other end. He has won all four of his decisions and comes into Monday with a league-leading .942 save percentage.
The Senators still haven’t solved the power play, sitting at 3 for 24, but the Devils showed how dangerous that area of the game can be on Saturday night. New Jersey beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 behind three power-play goals.
Nico Hischier scored twice with the man advantage, including the 200th goal of his NHL career. Jesper Bratt and Jesper Boqvist also scored, and Jake Allen stopped 20 of 21 shots in his 500th NHL game.
That win snapped a rough patch for New Jersey after back-to-back losses, 6-0 to the New York Islanders and 5-3 to Utah.
Ottawa’s injury situation remains a major part of the story. Jake Sanderson missed much of the preseason with a nagging injury and has been shut down since suffering a lower-body injury nine days ago in the season opener in Toronto. He was also pulled from the preseason finale the Saturday before that, so the club is taking a cautious approach.
William Eklund is expected to be out for an extended period after injuring his ankle against Philadelphia on Thursday. Andre Burakovsky returned against Nashville after missing the first four games of the season.
Artem Zub still hasn’t made his season debut, though he is skating in a regular jersey. Because he also had a preseason setback, the Senators are being careful with him as well.
New Jersey has its own injury list to manage. Former Senator Connor Brown is day to day.
Nick Bjugstad is on LTIR with a pectoral injury. Seamus Casey recently had knee surgery and will miss 6-8 weeks.
Travis Green is also shuffling his lines. Fabian Zetterlund, who got a long early look in the top six, will drop to the fourth line Monday after opening the season without a goal and with two assists in five games.
Warren Foegele moves up to skate with Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle, while Burakovsky will line up with Dylan Cozens and Ridly Greig. The team has Giroux-Pinto-Amadio listed as the third line, though that grouping looks stronger than the Cozens line by a long stretch, whether you judge by offense or two-way play.
On the blue line, Cam Crotty has gone to injured reserve because of what the club described as an illness, which keeps Hoyt Stanley in the lineup. Jorian Donovan was called up Saturday as the seventh defenseman.
Ullmark, still unbeaten at 4-0, is expected to start against Nico Daws for New Jersey. That would likely mean Sam Ersson gets the nod Tuesday back in Ottawa.
The Devils took two of three from the Senators in the 2025-26 regular season, and Monday begins the first of three meetings again this year. The teams will meet again on December 3 in Ottawa and March 2 in New Jersey.
It’s also the start of a demanding stretch for both clubs. Each will play two games in the next two nights with travel in between.
Ottawa returns home to face the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., while New Jersey heads to Detroit to meet the Red Wings.
Monday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will be shown on Sportsnet+ and TVA Sports.
In Other News...
Senators Lineup Shuffle Puts Pressure On Ottawas Patchwork Defense
A day before facing the New Jersey Devils, the Senators are already tinkering with a lineup that has little room for error. Ottawa recalled defenceman Jorian Donovan from Belleville and put Cam Crotty on the injured list, another sign of how thin the blue line has become as the club tries to stay afloat through injuries and absences. Travis Green also shuffled his forwards, with William Eklund out and Linus Ullmark lined up to start after another strong stretch in net.
The changes leave Ottawa asking more of its depth than it probably planned this early in the season. Donovans arrival gives the staff another option on defence, but the bigger picture is still about patching together a roster that keeps shifting from night to night. Greens top-six adjustments are meant to keep the attack moving, yet the real pressure may be on how well the Senators can survive a game that already feels like a test of their lineup flexibility. [Read more 🡒]
Ottawa Prospect Watch Centers On One Encouraging Early Syracuse Trend
The Syracuse Crunch have stumbled to a 1-3-0 start, but Ottawas prospect picture in central New York is not without a few early signs to track. Their latest game, a 3-2 loss to the Belleville Senators, offered another reminder that the Crunch are still trying to find their footing, even as Jakob Pelletier has begun contributing assists after leading the AHL in scoring last season.
For the Senators, the bigger interest may be the steady return of Dominic James, who is working his way back after a broken hand and is expected to rejoin the lineup soon following a conditioning stint. In goal, Mads Sogaard has been the more encouraging of Syracuses two new netminders so far, giving Ottawa another development storyline worth watching as the AHL season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Injury Trouble Could Change The Trade Market Fast
A strong start to the season has suddenly given the Senators a tougher question to answer, after winger Tim Eklund was lost to injury and Ottawa began sorting through how to replace a top-six forward. The timing matters because this group has been building momentum, and now the pressure shifts to the rest of the lineup to keep the offense moving without one of its key pieces.
Management does not have an easy fix sitting there, and the internal options are already being tested by the demands of the schedule. Andre Burakovsky has only just made his Senators debut after missing four games with an undisclosed preseason injury, which only adds to the sense that Ottawa may have to get creative if it wants to avoid letting a good opening month drift off course. [Read more 🡒]