Schedule Breakdown: Canadian Clashes

The 2025-26 NHL schedule has officially dropped and we now know when the Sens will be facing all 31 opponents across the NHL. With that we're going to take a deeper dive on all of the Sens clashes with Canadian teams at home and on the road this season.

Of course fans who want to guarantee access to see their favourite Canadian opponents this season can purchase a full, half, or Sens on Demand Membership.

For more in depth schedule analysis check out these break downs:

• Division Rivalries
• Saturday Showdowns
• Wild West

Without further ado, let's take a look at our cross-country battles!

Calgary Flames (2024-25 Record: 41-27-14; 95 points)

Oct. 30 7:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre
Mar. 05 9:00 p.m. | Scotiabank Saddledome

After narrowly missing the playoffs last season with the St. Louis Blues edging them out on a tie breaker in the final game of their season, Calgary has a lot to be excited about heading into this season. The Flames will effectively be running back the same team as last season with the biggest offseason move being back up goaltender Dan Vladar signing with the Philadelphia Flyers. With that the Flames may lean on Russian netminder Ivan Prosvetov, who spent last season in the KHL, to back up their breakout goaltender Dustin Wolf who is just entering his second season.

The Flames may have some movement on the blue line with looming questions around a trade for Rasmus Andersson while Zayne Parekh looks poised to claim a spot with the team after making his debut with the Flames at the end of last season. Parekh, the ninth overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, had a stellar junior career, tallying 203 points over the final two seasons of his OHL career with the Saginaw Spirit.

The Senators swept the season series last year with a 4-3 win at home Calgary in November and a 3-2 overtime win in Calgary just weeks later, with Brady Tkachuk potting the game-winning goal in both games.

Edmonton Oilers (2024-25 Record: 48-29-5; 101 points)

Oct. 21 7:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre
Mar. 03 9:00 p.m. | Rogers Place

After making it to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season the Oilers have shown in spades that they are one of the league's top teams. Led by the dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, scoring has not been an issue for this core ranking first in goals per game since the 2021-22 NHL season.

Both Oilers goaltenders boasted solid seasons last year With Stuart Skinner (2.81 GAA and a 0.896% save percentage) as the no. 1 option and Calvin Pickard (2.71 GAA and a 0.900% save percentage) set to back up once again this season. However, unsteady stretches have been costly for the Oilers, when the goaltending is hot, it's red hot; when it's cold, it's ice cold.

After losing veterans Corey Perry, Jeff Skinner, and Evander Kane this offseason, the Oilers look to fill that veteran presence this upcoming year with newcomers Curtis Lazar and Andrew Mangiapane. After back-to-back deep postseason runs with nothing to show expect this Oilers team to come out hungry this season with a massive chip on their shoulder.

The Oilers swept the season series last year with a 5-2 win at Canadian Tire Centre in November before picking up a 3-1 win at home in Edmonton one month later.

Montreal Canadiens (2024-25 Record: 40-31-11; 91 points)

Nov. 01 7:00 p.m. | Centre Bell
Dec. 02 9:00 p.m. | Centre Bell
Jan. 17 7:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre
Mar. 11 7:30 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

The Canadiens surprised many last season after sitting in nearly last place midway through the 2024-25 season before hitting their stride at the right time and sneaking into the final Wild Card playoff spot just as the season came to a close. While they lost in the opening round to the Washington Capitals, they have a lot to be excited about heading into next season.

The emergence of young talent spearheaded their 2024-25 campaign and is surely what they will lean on heading into this season. With Lane Hutson anchoring the blue line and Ivan Demidov set to show what he can bring to this young core, the Canadiens may look to go back-to-back with Calder Memorial Trophy winners.

While it's hard to call them veterans yet at such a young age the Canadiens core showed real growth last season. Captain Nick Suzuki had a career best 89 points in 2024-25 while Cole Caufield flirted with a 40-goal season, finishing the year with 37. The Canadiens will also look to get Kirby Dach back in the line-up after missing the end of the 2024-25 campaign with a knee injury.

Meanwhile between the pipes Sam Montembault led the Canadiens with a 2.80 goals against average and a .903% save percentage in his first season as their clear cut no. 1 option. Suffice to say, this Canadiens team will make for some solid battles with the Senators looking to build on a big 2024-25 campaign.

After several season of dominance in head-to-head match ups for the Senators, the Canadiens were able to get over the hump besting the Senators three of the four times they faced off last season. Of course, the Senators took the crucial fourth meeting which all but secured the top Wild Card berth over Montreal in the end.

Toronto Maple Leafs (2024-25 Record: 52-26-4; 108 points)

Dec. 27 7 p.m. | Scotiabank Arena
Feb. 28 1 p.m. | Scotiabank Saddledome
Mar. 13 7 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre
Apr. 15 7:30 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

A match up fans always look forward to, the Battle of Ontario might have a little extra motivation this season. Fresh off a postseason meeting in the first round, which Toronto won 4-2 despite a fantastic effort from the Senators to claw back from 3-0 and even looked poised to head to overtime in game six at home before Max Pacioretty and William Nylander potted one each to secure the win.

Toronto has had an interesting offseason to say the least. The biggest news was after months of speculation the Maple Leafs broke up the 'Core Four' with Mitch Marner being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Nicholas Roy ahead of hitting free agency. With that news, forward John Tavares took a hometown discount to stick with this Toronto core which allowed Toronto to waste no time signing young star Matthew Knies to a six-year contract extension with a clear indication of him playing a big role.

The Battle of Ontario favoured the Senators during the regular season last year, with a sweep of all three games including a 3-0 shutout in Toronto in their first meeting in November.

Vancouver Canucks (2024-25 Record: 38-30-14; 90 points)

Jan. 13 7 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre
Mar. 09 9 p.m. | Rogers Arena

One year after leading the Pacific Division, the Canucks found themselves in the midst of a down year last season. Surrounded by outside noise about their locker room chemistry they weren't able to pull their season together and finished on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.

However, after trading J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers at the deadline for Filip Chytil and Victor Mancini, re-signing Brock Boeser to a seven-year contract, and naming Adam Foote as the new Head Coach in the offseason, the Canucks look ready to bounce back next season. Look for Elias Pettersson, who had a down 2024-25 campaign, to have a bounce back year while captain Quinn Hughes anchoring the blue line offers this Canucks team stability.

The departure of Arturs Silovs, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins just a week ago, may instill confidence for Canucks fans heading into this season. With Thatcher Demko dealing with injury for most of the season, Silovs spent a good portion of last season backing up Kevin Lankinen. A willingness to move Silovs may be an indicator that Demko, the Vezina runner-up in 2023-24, may be fully healthy heading into this upcoming season.

The Senators and Canucks split the season series this year with the Canucks winning at Canadian Tire Centre on November 23 before the Sens returned the favour in Vancouver with a 5-4 overtime win at Rogers Arena to secure Leevi Meriläinen's first NHL win.

Winnipeg Jets (2024-25 Record: 56-22-4; 116 points)

Dec. 15 7:30 p.m. | Canada Life Centre
Jan. 03 7:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

Following a President's Trophy campaign in 2024-25 the Jets will look to build on a solid season last year led by the reigning Hart Memorial Trophy and Vezina trophy winner, Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes.

While defence epitomized their strength with a league leading 2.32 goals against last season, the Jets were a high producing offence last year as well. Scoring a whopping 3.35 goals per game, third most in the NHL, the Jets were getting help from all sides last season. They boasted five skaters with 50+ points, led by Kyle Connor's 41 goals and 56 assists for 97 points. Of course, as all teams inevitably find out it's increasingly difficult to keep a strong core together and the Jets were no stranger to this losing Nikolaj Ehlers to the Carolina Hurricanes in Free Agency this year. While they still boast a strong core they will likely need to take a piecemeal approach to replace his production.

The Senators may boast a chip on their shoulder when facing the Jets next season as Winnipeg swept the season series last year by a combined score of 8-3.

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