Puck drop 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario (Kanata)
TV/Streaming: ESPN+, NBCSP, TSN5, RDS
This is an early-season Atlantic-Metropolitan clash. Ottawa hosts its home opener after a strong start on the road; Philadelphia seeks its first win of the season after four straight losses (two in regulation, two in OT).
Injury Reports
Philadelphia Flyers
Rasmus Ristolainen (D): Day-to-day (undisclosed); game-time decision possible.
Nikita Grebenkin (RW): Out (upper body), IR.
Helge Grans (D): Out (lower body), IR-NR.
Ottawa Senators
Linus Ullmark (G): Day-to-day (undisclosed); projected to start but monitored.
Jake Sanderson (D): Day-to-day (lower body); expected to be available or close.
Andre Burakovsky (LW): Out (upper body), IR (expected ~Oct. 10).
Artem Zub (D): Out (knee), IR-NR.
Kurtis MacDermid (LW): Out (undisclosed/upper body), IR-NR.
Other depth pieces (e.g., Blake Montgomery) on IR-NR.
Projected Goalies
Philadelphia: Daniel Vladar or Joseph Woll (Vladar projected ~59% in some models; Woll has posted stronger early numbers, .929 SV%).
Ottawa: Linus Ullmark (projected ~76% if healthy; Samuel Ersson filled in recently).
Current Rosters / Key Players
Philadelphia Flyers:
Forwards – Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier (C), Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, Tyson Foerster, Owen Tippett, Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates, Porter Martone, Noel Acciari, Carl Grundstrom, Garrett Wilson, Alex Bump, Denver Barkey (activated from IR in some reports).
Defense – Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Nick Seeler, Simon Benoit, David Jiricek, Rasmus Ristolainen (DTD).
Goalies – Dan Vladar, Joseph Woll.
Ottawa Senators:
Forwards – Tim Stützle, Drake Batherson, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, Claude Giroux, William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, Michael Amadio, Ridly Greig, Nick Cousins, Stephen Halliday, Hayden Hodgson.
Defense – Thomas Chabot (C), Jake Sanderson (DTD), Jordan Spence, Tyler Kleven, Nikolas Matinpalo, Carter Yakemchuk, Cameron Crotty.
Goalies – Linus Ullmark, Samuel Ersson.
Ottawa features a skilled young core led by Stützle. Philadelphia leans on Konecny, Michkov’s creativity, and a solid defensive group anchored by Sanheim.
Recent Team Forms
Philadelphia (0-2-2): Winless and struggling offensively (1.25 GF/G) while allowing heavy volume (4.25 GA/G). Recent results include OT losses and a 1-4 defeat at Tampa Bay (Oct. 5). Power play at 0%; faceoffs solid but overall structure has been leaky. Two days’ rest.
Ottawa (2-1-0): Solid road start with wins at Toronto (3-2) and Boston (4-1), then a 3-5 loss at Detroit (Oct. 6). Scoring 3.33 GF/G; Stützle has been productive early. Home opener after one day of rest. Special teams mixed (PP ~7.7% early).
Series History / Head-to-Head
Competitive all-time series (roughly even or slight Senators edge in recent tallies). Ottawa has dominated recent meetings, including a current multi-game winning streak against Philadelphia (e.g., wins in OT and regulation in 2025-26). Last season Ottawa swept or took the majority of the matchups, often decided by one goal.
Key Player vs. Player Matchups
Tim Stützle / Drake Batherson / Dylan Cozens (Ottawa top skill) vs. Travis Sanheim / Cam York and Flyers top forwards (Konecny-Zegras-Michkov area): Stützle’s playmaking and speed against Philadelphia’s defensive pairings and secondary scoring.
Claude Giroux / Shane Pinto depth vs. Sean Couturier / Christian Dvorak: Veteran two-way centers battling for middle-ice control.
Thomas Chabot / Jake Sanderson (if available) vs. Matvei Michkov / Travis Konecny: Ottawa’s top defense against Philadelphia’s most dangerous attackers.
Goaltending: Ullmark’s early excellence vs. Philadelphia’s higher-volume shots faced.
Special teams: Philadelphia’s dormant power play vs. Ottawa’s PK; faceoff edge may favor the Flyers slightly. Ottawa has last change at home.
Betting Trends
Ottawa owns recent H2H dominance and is coming off a strong start; Philadelphia is winless with defensive issues. Low totals make sense given early-season scoring struggles for the Flyers and Ottawa’s structured play.
Game Odds
Philadelphia Flyers 5.5
Ottawa Senators – 146
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Wednesday, October 7, 2026
