{"id":928422,"date":"2026-10-11T01:20:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T01:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/928422\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T01:20:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T01:20:21","slug":"game-5-preview-and-open-thread-ottawa-senators-vs-nashville-predators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/928422\/","title":{"rendered":"Game 5 Preview and Open Thread: Ottawa Senators vs Nashville Predators"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Senators are standing atop a rapidly growing pile of injuries, but they’re also sitting atop the Atlantic Division. Maybe the secret to hockey success was blood sacrifice all along.<\/p>\n

It took a grinding effort to beat the Flyers at Thursday’s home opener, but the Senators managed to reward their first Ottawa crowd of the season with a win. Nothing can ever be simple for the Sens though, and the loss of William Eklund stings. He was moved to IR this morning, and Travis Green told reporters yesterday that the winger’s ankle injury will keep him out “for an extended period<\/a>” and was still unsure if surgery would be necessary. He seemed to be leaning toward it not being required, which we’ll take as a small silver lining in an otherwise unfortunate situation. Thankfully, the resurgence of one of Eklund’s fellow Swedes and the return of another makes the blow a little easier to bear.<\/p>\n

Linus Ullmark has been electric through his first 3 games of the season, boasting a 3-0-0 record, 1.13 GAA, and .956 SV%. He’s also second in the league in goals saved above expected at 5.2, trailing only the Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin (per MoneyPuck<\/a>). It’s still the early goings but goaltending has been a constant topic of conversation around this team for the past few years, and now, just as fans and media alike have predicted, the Senators are finding success with good goaltending at their back. Crazy, right?<\/p>\n

In other good news, Andre Burakovsky will make his regular season debut this evening, returning from injury just as Eklund’s absence leaves a gap in the lineup. A first-line assignment alongside St\u00fctzle and Batherson sets high expectations, but if Burakovsky can keep pace with his linemates he could help keep Ottawa’s early-season momentum rolling at the CTC.<\/p>\n

Standing in their way are the Nashville Predators, who arrive in the capital riding the high of five unanswered goals in their 5-2 win over the Canadiens. Juuse Saros has been in fine form early on, while familiar faces Steven Stamkos and Roman Josi are leading the way as Nashville looks to re-establish itself as a contender. They earned their second win of the season in Montreal, and will be looking to make it three tonight in the finale of their brief Atlantic division road trip. <\/p>\n

The Predators left Montreal with more than just two points, too. Yesterday, Nashville acquired Jayden Struble<\/a> from the Canadiens in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick. A bottom-pairing defenceman isn’t the most exciting acquisition, but MacFarland is banking on the 25-year-old to grow with the team. Struble is expected to make appear in the Predators lineup tonight. Vitali Pinchuk is also expected to make his NHL debut, slotting in for the injured Mavrick Bourque. Fingers crossed the Senators don’t let in a debut goal for either player, although history tells us the odds are high.<\/p>\n

You can catch the game on Sportsnet at 7:00 pm ET.<\/p>\n

Senators projected lineup<\/p>\n

\n Burakovsky – St\u00fctzle – Batherson\n<\/p>\n

\n Greig – Cozens – Zetterlund\n<\/p>\n

\n Amadio – Pinto – Giroux\n<\/p>\n

\n Foegele – Halliday – Cousins\n<\/p>\n

\n Chabot – Spence\n<\/p>\n

\n Kleven – Yakemchuk\n<\/p>\n

\n Stanley – Matinpalo\n<\/p>\n

\n Ullmark\n<\/p>\n

\n Ersson\n<\/p>\n

Injured: Eklund (ankle), Zub (knee), MacDermid (upper body), Sanderson (lower body), Crotty (illness)<\/p>\n

Predators projected lineup<\/p>\n

\n Stamkos – O’Reilly – Marchessault\n<\/p>\n

\n Forsberg – Wood – Hoglander\n<\/p>\n

\n Schaefer – Pinchuk – Kerfoot\n<\/p>\n

\n Colton – Drury – Edstrom\n<\/p>\n

\n Hague – Josi\n<\/p>\n

\n Skjei – Perbix\n<\/p>\n

\n Struble – Wilsby\n<\/p>\n

\n Saros\n<\/p>\n

\n Murray\n<\/p>\n

Injured: Annunen (undisclosed), Trudeau (upper body), Bourque (upper body)<\/p>\n

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