It has been a hectic opening stretch for the Ottawa Senators, and after four games they’re sitting at 3-1 and first in the Atlantic. That’s a strong place to be, especially with the injuries piling up and the team still having some uneven moments.
It’s still far too early to hand out real judgments, but that hasn’t stopped the first week from offering a few clear themes. Here are five early takeaways from the 2026-27 Senators season.
The first thing that jumps out is the injury pileup, because it is already absurd. Ottawa is four games into the season and missing its top defensive pair and its best left winger.
The team also briefly lost Ullmark, while Burakovsky still hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game for the Senators. That’s a brutal amount of bad health to absorb this quickly, even if Sanderson and Zub sound like they should be back sooner rather than later.
Defensively, Ottawa has held together better than you might expect. Last season’s structure and depth helped them survive almost anything on the blue line, and that has mostly continued.
They look more like an average defensive team right now than one of the league’s elite units, but that’s understandable with the lineup they’ve been forced to use. The bigger concern is up front, where the Eklund injury cuts into the one area this roster can least afford to lose.
The Senators can patch holes in most places on the forward group, but not there. Going into the year, Eklund, Stützle and Batherson were the three irreplaceable names, and one of them is already out.
That makes the need for a winger trade feel more urgent by the day.
Goaltending, at least, has looked better. After last season’s mess at the position, Ottawa needed two things: a full, league-average year from Linus Ullmark and a backup who could actually keep them in games.
Through the opening week, Ullmark has delivered exactly the kind of start the Senators were hoping for. He was Ottawa’s second-best player in the win over the Leafs, had a shutout through 40 minutes against the Bruins before leaving with an injury, and was excellent against the Flyers.
His .956 save percentage is among the league’s best. The question is durability and consistency over the long haul, but the early returns are encouraging.
The backup situation is still very much unsettled. The Senators brought in Ersson this summer, and the general view was that it wasn’t enough to solve the problem.
That concern hasn’t gone away. He looked fine in stretches Monday against the Bruins and in his first start against the Red Wings, but he also made ugly mistakes in both games that directly led to goals.
It’s too soon to sound the alarm, but the backup spot remains a major question mark, and his next start matters.
Tim Stützle is doing exactly what Ottawa needs from its best forward. He’s always been a streaky player, and when he gets rolling he looks like a goal-per-game threat and a 100-point caliber talent.
That’s the version showing up right now. He’s driving shifts, creating offense even without much help on his wings, and standing out as the team’s best penalty killer because of how well he retrieves pucks and exits the zone.
He’s also getting pucks on net the way fans have wanted for years. A 100-point season still feels like a big ask with the current wing depth, but 40 goals is not out of reach.
The injuries on defence have also opened the door for Carter Yakemchuk, and he’s giving Ottawa something to work with. His power-play goal against the Flyers was a reminder of the offensive upside he brings.
Most of his minutes have come beside Kleven, who does not drive play much, and the possession numbers for that pairing have been rough. Yakemchuk has also made the expected young-player mistakes in his own end.
But he hasn’t looked overwhelmed, and he’s still confident when he gets into the offensive zone. It would be interesting to see what he could do next to Sanderson if that pairing becomes available before Zub returns.
What stands out most with Yakemchuk is how often he seems to rise when the moment gets bigger. That showed up in his first NHL game last year, again in the playoffs when he posted 2 points in his lone game, and again against the Flyers when Ottawa’s power play needed a jolt.
He’s a fun player to watch, and the contrast between his confidence on the ice and his lack of it away from the rink makes him even more compelling. With the Senators short on top-end forwards, there’s a case for using two defencemen on the power play and letting Yakemchuk fire from closer to the net.
The shot is real, and the power play needs help.
And then there’s Michael Amadio, who has become one of the early surprises of the season. He’s the winger who has clicked best with Stützle so far, which is not what anyone would have guessed, but here we are.
Amadio has two goals and an assist, sits second on the team in individual expected goals behind William Eklund, and is a major reason the line with Pinto and Giroux looks like one of the league’s best third lines. He’s also a big part of why the penalty kill has been so effective.
He fits the role-player profile perfectly: smart, responsible, and useful in all the places that matter. He’s not the guy you want alone on a breakaway, but he can help move the puck and even set Stützle up shorthanded.
He makes an impact without always demanding attention, and that’s exactly the kind of player contenders need. Ottawa will probably want to keep him beyond this year.
In Other News...
Red Wings Standings Chase Just Got Tougher In The Atlantic
Ottawa is getting healthier at a good time, with defensemen Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub expected back in the lineup within the next few days. Zub has been working his way back from a knee injury that kept him out of camp and preseason, while Sandersons return should give the Senators another boost on the back end as they try to keep pace in a crowded division.
Andr Burakovsky is also close to coming back from an upper-body injury, adding another layer to the Senators near-term picture. The timing matters because Detroit has already started sorting through its own injury list, activating forwards Chase Stillman and Carter Bear and sending them to Grand Rapids, a small but relevant reminder that the Atlantic chase will keep shifting as teams get bodies back and try to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Prospect Watch Took A Frustrating Turn In London
The London Knights had the kind of night that can sting long after the final horn, letting an early two-goal lead slip away before falling 4-3 in a shootout to the Erie Otters. For Ottawa Senators fans keeping tabs on the prospect scene, there was still plenty to note beyond the result: Eloan Le Gallic and Marcus Nordmark chipped in, while the Knights first-period scoring and special teams left them chasing the game far too often.
Aleksei Medvedev did his part for stretches, coming up with several key saves as London tried to steady itself and get to the finish line with two points. Instead, the Knights were left to regroup after another frustrating finish, and the attention now shifts to how they respond to a game that exposed some familiar issues and offered only a partial silver lining for those watching the pipeline. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Must Reshuffle Two Key Forward Spots At A Risky Time
William Eklunds ankle injury has forced Ottawa into an early lineup adjustment at a time when the Senators are already juggling bodies, and the timing is hardly ideal. Even with the shuffling, the club has managed a strong start with three wins in four games, a useful cushion as it waits on more reinforcements and tries to keep the forward group from losing too much rhythm.
Andr Burakovsky is set to make his regular season debut as part of the fix, while Ridly Greig is moving up the depth chart to help fill the void left behind. With Artem Zub and Jake Sanderson also expected back soon, Ottawa is trying to patch together the present while keeping one eye on a healthier version of the roster, but how quickly these new combinations settle in will matter. [Read more 🡒]