Schedule Breakdown: Saturday Showdowns

Saturday is practically synonymous with hockey in the NHL and the Senators are setting up for a full suite of Saturday showdowns this season. 23 total games on Saturdays with 12 right here at Canadian Tire Centre

Of course fans who want to guarantee access to the Saturday games that most pique their interest this season can purchase a full, half, or Sens on Demand Membership.

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

• Canadian Clashes
• Division Rivalries
• Wild West

Without further ado, let's take a look at all of the Saturday opponents on the docket this season.

Florida Panthers (2024-25 Record: 47-31-4; 98 points)

Oct. 11 7:00 p.m. | Amerant Bank Arena
Jan. 10 7:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

Surely a team that needs no introduction as the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers have proven to be a thorn in the side of nearly every team in the league over the last several seasons. The big question for the Panthers after going all in to win the Cup this summer was how they were going to keep the band together and stay cap compliant. Well after signing Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad to six, eight, and eight year contracts respectively it seems they kept the band together, much to the rest of the league's chagrin.

Of course, the Panthers did have some movement this summer adding savvy veteran Jeff Petry while seeing Kaapo Kahkonen, Nate Schmidt, Nico Sturm, and more move on to other teams. Led by Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Sergei Bobrovsky still playing at an elite level, the Panthers will effectively be running back the same core that has gone to three straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning two. Suffice to say they will be a force to be reckoned with.

With that said the Senators and Panthers were fairly evenly matched last season with each team taking both games on home ice including a shut out for each team and a goal differential that only favoured the Panthers by one goal over four games. With the undertones of the battle of the Tkachuks these games are sure to be must see TV this season and battles you'll want to secure a seat for.

New York Islanders (2024-25 Record: 35-35-12; 82 points)

Oct. 18 1:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

An offseason full of shuffling their blue line makes for an interesting year ahead for the New York Islanders. On the same day that the Islanders traded the leader of their blue line Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens, they selected Matthew Schaefer with the first overall selection at the 2025 NHL Draft. While it remains to be seen if Schaefer will start the season with the Islanders having just turned 18 two weeks before the start of training camp, it certainly signals a new era on Long Island.

The strength of this Islanders team over the last half decade has been the man between the pipes, Ilya Sorokin. Turning 30 just before the start of the season Sorokin is still well in his prime and will be a force to be reckoned with once again. On the offensive side the Islanders still have some weapons like Bor Horvat, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Anders Lee while also adding a little punch to their line-up ahead of this season in Jonathan Drouin.

Last year the Islanders seemed to have the Senators number winning the first two games by a score of 4-2 each time before the Senators took the third and final meeting in a 2-0 shut out at UBS Arena.

Washington Capitals (2024-25 Record: 51-22-9; 111 points)

Oct. 25 7:00 p.m. | Capital One Arena

Coming off a season where they finished with the top seed in the Eastern Conference fueled by Alexander Ovechkin's chase to become the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer. Looking for another strong season out of Logan Thompson as their number one goaltender and continued momentum from defenceman Jakob Chychrun who set career highs across the board in his first season in Washington, the Capitals could once again be among the Eastern Conference's elite next season.

Of course, there is no such thing as an offseason with no movement. One season after losing one veretan presence in Nicklas Bäckström who stepped away after dealing with a hip injury, the Capitals will head into the 2025-26 season without TJ Oshie for the first time in a decade after he announced his retirement this offseason. The Capitals did bring in depth defenceman Declan Chisholm who is likely to spend time on the team's third pairing

They will welcome a familiar face back when Ottawa comes to town as recently signed Lars Eller will make his return to Washington on October 25 for the first time as a member of the Senators.

The Senators and Capitals were as even as two teams could be last season with three games all needing overtime to decide a winner. The Capitals took the first and the Senators evened it up in the second before the Capitals claimed the season series in a 5-4 win in a shootout on March 3rd.

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

Nov. 1 7:00 p.m. | Centre Bell
Jan. 17 7:00 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.

Philadelphia Flyers (2024-25 Record: 33-39-10; 76 points)

Nov. 08 7:00 p.m. | Wells Fargo Center

The 2024-25 season may not have gone the way the Flyers had intended it to, but there is certainly a lot to be excited about heading into this season. An active offseason has seen them reunite Jamie Drysdale with former teammate Trevor Zegras who they traded for this offseason as their big move. Additionally, they brought in Dan Vladar in free agency who will compete with Samuel Ersson for the starting position this year.

Battles with the Flyers always seem to bring a little more oomph since the arrival of former Flyers captain Claude Giroux in the nations capital three season ago. Led by Travis Konecny, rookie sensation Matvei Michkov, and captain Sean Couturier this Flyers team can score in bunches, adding Zegras and Christian Dvorak only helps bolster their arsenal.

The Flyers and Senators met three times last season with each team winning once in overtime and the Senators winning handily in a midseason match up in Philadelphia. The overtime win over the Flyers on April 13 helped the Senators secure the top wild card position over the Montreal Canadiens.

LA Kings (2024-25 Record: 48-25-9; 105 points)

Nov. 15 7:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

The Kings had a strong 2024-25 campaign resulting in their fourth consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where unfortunately the met and lost to the Edmonton Oilers for the fourth consecutive year. With steady leaders Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty still in place this Kings team is poised for another season as one of the best in the West.

There was a lot of movement in La La Land this offseason with Tanner Jeannot, Vladislav Gavrikov, David Rittich all moving on to new teams which adding Cody Ceci, Joel Armia, Anton Forsberg, and Brian Dumoulin. Perhaps the most intriguing offseason addition for the Kings was adding longtime crosstown rival Corey Perry who also was a member of the Oilers team that knocked them out of the playoffs each of the last two seasons.

The Senators and Kings split their season series last season with each side winning on home ice. Of course, the Senators win came in one of the most thrilling and high scoring games of the season edging out the Kings in an 8-7 effort on October 14.

San Jose Sharks (2024-25 Record: 20-50-12; 52 points)

Nov. 22 7:00 p.m. | SAP Center

Expectations were low in San Jose last season as they are letting their young blossoming core come into their own and it will likely be much of the same this upcoming season. With young guns Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and William Eklund combining for 60 goals this past season and potentially bringing Michael Misa into the fold, the Sharks will be stacked up front for years to come.

The Sharks have been among the most active in the league this offseason adding veteran players like John Klingberg, Adam Gaudette, Jeff Skinner, and Dmitry Orlov to help alongside their young core. A trade with the Penguins for goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic helps bolster their net presence heading into this season as well.

The Senators swept the season series last year though the Sharks certainly didn't make it easy on them only outscoring San Jose by three goals across the two games.

St. Louis Blues (2024-25 Record: 44-30-8; 96 points)

Dec. 06 7:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

In a fashion akin to the 2019 run the Blues had one of the hottest second halves of the season last year sneaking into the playoffs at the very end of the season. They followed that up by pushing the President's Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets to the waning seconds of game seven for a near upset in the opening round. To say there's a lot of optimism in St. Louis since bringing Jim Montgomery into the fold almost seems like an understatement.

It's been a quiet but impactful offseason for the Blues. They traded Zac Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Logan Mailloux while also signing Pius Suter in free agency to a two-year deal. Additionally, veterans Ryan Suter and Radek Faksa hit free agency with the latter signing with the Dallas Stars.

In their two meetings last season both the Senators and Blues won on home ice both in commanding fashion. The Senators laid a beat down on the Blues in October winning 8-1 while the Blues shutout the Senators 4-0 on their trip to St. Louis.

Minnesota Wild (2024-25 Record: 45-30-7; 97 points)

December 13 2:00 p.m. | Xcel Energy Center
April 04 1:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

The Minnesota Wild have quietly been one of the most consistent teams of the last decade and a half making the playoffs 11 out of the last 13 years and last season was no different. While the playoff run was short lived against the Vegas Golden Knights, there appear to be bright skies ahead after a fruitful offseason for the Wild.

Bringing some Stanley Cup experience into the locker room this season with two-time winner Vladimir Tarasenko and the return of Nico Sturm fresh off a cup win this past season should help bolster their roster. Factor in a hopefully healthy season from Kirill Kaprisov and the development of emerging star defenceman Brock Faber and young gun Zeev Buium and this Wild team looks poised to take another step.

The one question the Wild still have to address heading into this season is who there back up goaltender will be. With Filip Gustavson establishing himself as the number one option and Marc-André Fleury hanging up his skates there is a void to fill. Perhaps Cal Petersen could prove to be the back up however, with only five NHL games under his belt since the beginning of the 2023-24 season and none this past year, that seems unlikely.

The Senators took the season series against the Wild last season with a 3-1 win in Minnesota before coming back to Canadian Tire Centre and delivering a crushing 6-0 shut out effort behind Leevi Meriläinen.

Chicago Blackhawks (2024-25 Record: 25-46-11; 61 points)

Dec. 20 3 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

Similar to the San Jose Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks have spent the last couple of seasons with tempered expectations, letting their young players develop. Led by Emerging star Connor Bedard who bested his Calder Trophy winning campaign across the board in just his second second season and looks poised to take a big step heading into year three.

It's been a quiet offseason in terms of bringing players in for the Blackhawks, but they have bid farewell to a healthy portion of their roster from last season. Pat Maroon and Alec Martinez but called it a career while Joe Veleno and Victor Soderstrom have both found new teams. The big moves that they have made have been bringing in Andre Burakovsky and Sam Lafferty and drafting Anton Frondell in the first round of the NHL Draft this season.

While times have been tough in Chicago over the last half decade or so, they have proven to be a tough opponent for the Senators. The Senators and Blackhawks have split their season series in each of the two seasons and the Blackhawks are 8-1-1 in their last 10 contests against the Senators. Look for the Sens to try to buck that trend this season when they come to town right before the Christmas break.

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

Dec. 27 7:00 p.m. | Scotiabank Arena
Feb. 28 1 p.m. | Scotiabank Arena
March 21 7:00 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.

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

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.

Carolina Hurricanes (2024-25 Record: 47-30-5; 99 points)

Jan. 24 7:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

There is a strong argument to be made that the Carolina Hurricanes have been the best team in the Eastern Conference over the last half decade or so. Seven consecutive trips to the postseason including three Eastern Conference Final appearances is hard to match by team outside of the state of Florida.

However, this Hurricanes team has not been able to get over the hump to make it to the Stanley Cup Final and as they say close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. After an eventful offseason, expect a hungry team in Raleigh looking to take that next step.

Many would call the Hurricanes the winners of the offseason (if you don't count the Panthers re-signing all of their own players), bringing in big names like Nikolaj Ehlers and K'Andre Miller. Of course, they did lost veteran blue liners Dmitry Orlov and Brent Burns which will prove tough to replace not just on the ice but off the ice as well.

After the Hurricanes took the first meeting of the season in commanding fashion winning 4-0 in Raleigh, the Senators bounced back in a big way to win the season series last year. First a 3-0 shutout at Lenovo Center followed by a late season 7-5 win on the final night of the regular season. A tough opponent anytime, expect some good battles between these two, especially when they come to Canadian Tire Centre in January.

New Jersey Devils (2024-25 Record: 42-33-7; 91 points)

Jan. 31 7:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

The Devils had an up and down season last year, looking like an early favourite to win the Metropolitan Division before star forward Jack Hughes took and injury and was limited to just 62 games. However, they persevered and still locked in a playoff spot and despite key injuries to Hughes and Dougie Hamilton they gave a good fight to the Carolina Hurricanes in the opening round.

Hoping for a clean bill of health heading into this season, the Devils look like they are ready to be a force in the East once again. While they lost Tomas Tatar, Brian Dumoulin, and Curtis Lazar, they brought in some veteran presence that should help the cause. Evgenii Dadonov and Connor Brown will add some steadiness to the roster while Angus Crookshank should vie for a roster spot with the same energy he brought to Belleville and Ottawa the last few seasons.

In a similar fashion to the Hurricanes match up, the Devils took an early game against the Senators before they stormed back and won two straight to claim the season series.

Seattle Kraken (2024-25 Record: 35-41-6; 76 points)

March 07 10:00 p.m. | Climate Pledge Arena

One of the league's newest teams the Kraken have had glimpses of being a strong team, making the playoffs in 2022-23. However, this past season was a tougher go in Seattle finishing 13th in the West. However, the Kraken have had a strong offseason and aim to be back in the playoff race this year.

Bringing in Mason Marchment and Frederick Gaudreau should add some firepower alongside Matty Beniers, Jordan Eberle, Kaapo Kakko and co. On the blue line adding Ryan Lindgren to play alongside Brandon Montour bolsters the defensive core with a top four also featuring Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson.

The symmetry of the Senators two battles with Seattle last season was something special. A 3-0 shutout win at Canadian Tire Centre in early November was matched with a 3-0 shutout win at Climate Pledge Arena in mid-December. While it's probably unrealistic to expect another season of shutting out the Kraken, there's surely a bit of an edge in this series right now favouring the Senators.

Anaheim Ducks (2024-25 Record: 35-37-10; 80 points)

March 14 1:00 p.m. | Canadian Tire Centre

Over the last few years the Ducks have been another team that has been letting their young talent develop. This offseason has clearly signaled a change in mentality and they look hungry to make a playoff push this now.

Trading young budding talent Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers ahead of the NHL Draft in exchange for Ryan Poehling showed that they were a bit more serious about their intentions to be a team in the West to fear. Adding Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund continues their trend of bringing veterans who know how to win into the fold alongside Jacob Trouba who they added in December of last season.

The biggest issue yet to be dealt with in Anaheim is the free agency status of young forward Mason McTavish. McTavish took a jump this season amassing career highs in goals, assists, and points. Surely the preference would be to re-sign such a young talent but in the event the two sides can't reach a deal he should fetch a good return on the market highlighting that the moves may not be done yet in Anaheim this offseason.

The Senators and Ducks faced off twice in short order last season, splitting the season series with the Ducks winning 4-3 in a shootout on Dec. 1 before the Senators returned the favour in a big way winning 5-1 on Dec. 11. A birthday gift for Senators Assistant Coach Daniel Alfredsson.

Tampa Bay Lightning (2024-25 Record: 47-27-8; 102 points)

March 28 7:00 p.m. | Amalie Arena

In a season that many expected the Lightning to take a step back after their long-time Captain Steven Stamkos left in free agency, the Lightning proved that it's no mistake that they made it to three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals including two wins to start the 2020's. Led by three time Art Ross Memorial Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov on the front end, while perennial Vezina Trophy candidate Andrei Vasilevskiy minds the net, this Tampa Bay team can pose issues for opponents at the best of times.

While the bulk of the offseason efforts for the Lightning organization have been focused on the Syracuse Crunch, they have made several moves to bolster their roster for next season. Following Cam Atkinson becoming a free agent, the Lightning added Pontus Holmberg while also signing last season's big trade acquisition Yanni Gourde to a six-year extension.

The Senators and Lightning split their season series last year with each side winning on home ice. However, with only one visit to Canadian Tire Centre this season, and likely during a crucial playoff push Senators fans will want to circle April 7 on their calendars as their only chance to catch the Lightning in Ottawa this season.

For continued Ottawa Senators coverage, follow the Ottawa Senators' socials and on the web.

Keep up to date with Sens360: https://www.nhl.com/senators/sens360/content/

Follow the Senators on Instagram: senators

Engage with the Senators on X: @Senators

Like the Senators on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ottawasenators