Okay, NOW it’s Game Day.
It has been 161 days since the Sens bowed out in the first round of the NHL playoffs and a little less than that since the fan base gave this team a massive ovation as they left the ice for the last time. And now, in what feels like the blink of an eye, they’re back.
The Ottawa Senators visit the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first game of the 2025/2026 season.
The Senators find themselves in a unique spot heading into the new year. For the first time in what feels like forever, there are real and legitimate expectations around this group. Just about every self-proclaimed expert is putting this Ottawa team in the post-season again and just about any with a brain of some kind recognizes that the Sens could do some damage when they get there. Oh how far we’ve come.
It’s not quite a “run it back” scenario but it’s damn close. After watching this young core take a big ol’ step, Steve Staios and company decided that a little bit of tinkering around the edges was the way to go. He believes in this group. Jordan Spence adds some depth to the blueline, Lars Eller gives them a little veteran experience on that fourth line and Kurtis MacDermid is here to punch the odd face but other than that, it’s a team that will look real familiar.
A few things have to happen to keep this thing rolling in the right direction.
At the top of that list is another big step from the talented young players that broke a long playoff drought last year. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle and Jake Sanderson all need to play like the stars that they are. After that, it’s going to be about a surprisingly deep supporting cast also taking another step. This includes the likes of Fabian Zetterlund and Dylan Cozens, who joined the team at the deadline last year but never really got settled. There’s real talent in goal and on defence and up front as guys like Linus Ullmark, Drake Batherson, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, Claude Giroux, David Perron, Thomas Chabot, Tyler Kleven, Nick Jensen and Artem Zub all add a lil something to what has quickly one of the deepest rosters in the Conference.
But that’s on paper.
What we’ll learn pretty quick is just how much the Senators learned from their playoff experience. Just how much it hurt to come up short in the first round. And just how hard they worked to make sure that this year is different. Nothing is guaranteed in professional sports but this certainly seems like a team that can do some real damage this season and if things break the right way, we could be talking about Sens hockey well into May and June. Sure, I’ve said something like this for the better part of two decades here on SensChirp but this year, I look a little less crazy than I usually do.
There are 82 regular season games to play first. And as we’ve learned from previous seasons, a good start is going to be key. Ottawa begins with a tough two-game swing through the state of Florida before returning home for five of six at the Canadian Tire Centre.
The Senators will skate in Tampa Bay before puck drop so we’ll finalize the lineup shortly after that pre-game twirl but right now it looks like no Drake Batherson or Tyler Kleven and Jordan Spence as a healthy scratch. This is how they lined up this morning.
Tkachuk-Stützle-Zetterlund
Perron-Cozens-Amadio
Greig-Pinto-Giroux
Cousins-Eller-Lyksell
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Jensen
Sebrango-Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark will get the start for the good guys.
Puck drop is scheduled for just a shade after 7:00 PM in Tampa Bay. The game is available on TSN5 and on the radio at TSN1200. If illegal internet streamin’ is more your thing, I have it on good authority that Bort is showing up in the best shape of his life and should have some links to share a little closer to game time.
Hey, you….YA YOU…..can I get a GO SENS GO?
GO SENS GO
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Game Day – Senators Begin Regular Season in Tampa Bay appeared first on
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