The Ottawa Senators are heading into their game against the Nashville Predators with a reshuffled look, and the biggest change is that André Burakovsky is finally set to make his regular-season debut.
Burakovsky is expected to jump straight onto the top line with Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson, giving Ottawa a needed replacement after William Eklund’s ankle injury pushed him onto the club’s injured list for an extended period. Eklund had opened the season in a top-six role and was also seeing time on the power play, and head coach Travis Green had even tried him on the first line in the last game. That look didn’t last long before the injury ended the experiment.
Burakovsky arrives as the most natural fit to fill the opening. The 2013 first-round pick was having a strong preseason before a collision with Montreal Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj on September 26 forced him out. He finished the exhibition slate with three assists, including two on power-play goals by Claude Giroux and Carter Yakemchuk.
Ottawa’s other major lineup adjustment comes on the second line, where Ridly Greig has been bumped up to replace Eklund alongside Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund. Greig will be appearing in just his third regular-season game after serving a two-game suspension tied to an incident in the playoffs with Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Sean Walker.
Greig’s game gives the Senators a different look in that spot. He brings edge, pressure, and a willingness to forecheck, traits that could mesh with Cozens’ puck-moving style through the middle and Zetterlund’s physical play. Greig, Cozens, and Zetterlund already spent time together after Eklund left the team’s home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers, and Ottawa is hoping that early chemistry carries over.
The pressure now shifts to the two top lines to keep producing. Stützle leads the Senators with six points and three goals in four games, and the club will need that kind of pace to hold steady while the lineup keeps changing around him.
On the blue line, Artem Zub is still not ready to return even though he resumed skating and joined the morning skate. He was listed as an extra and will not make his regular-season debut yet as he continues to recover from a nagging knee injury. Rookie Hoyt Stanley is expected to stay in the lineup on the third pairing with Nikolas Matinpalo.
There is some good news on the health front, though. Zub’s return appears close, Kurtis MacDermid was back on the ice this morning, and Jake Sanderson is expected to be days away from rejoining the team.
Even with the injuries, Ottawa has managed to start 3-1 and keep banking points early. The Senators have been forced to lean on depth, but they’ve still found ways to win. Nashville comes in after a 5-2 win over the Canadiens on Thursday night, carrying two victories of its own into the nation’s capital.
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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
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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 Wins Will Mean Even More To Ottawa Fans This Season
The first few Senators wins of the season already carried extra weight for Thomas Chabot and Tim Stutzle, and not just because of what they meant in the standings. Ottawas captain and alternate captain have pledged to donate money to the CHEO Foundation after every team victory, with the effort backed by the Senators Community Foundation and tied to a dedicated site that invites fans to chip in as well.
It is a gesture rooted in memory, one meant to honor Griffin Bell, a young Senators fan whose battle with cancer touched the organization and its supporters. The idea gives each win a deeper purpose for the fan base, turning the scoreboard into something bigger than a nightly result and adding another layer of meaning to a season already shaped by the bond between the team and the city. [Read more 🡒]