The Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders meet on Saturday afternoon (3 pm, TSN 5, RDS) at Canadian Tire Centre, with both clubs feeling a little lighter after shaking off three-game losing skids on Thursday night.
Linus Ullmark’s excellent 30-save performance helped the Senators (2-3) beat the Seattle Kraken 4–3 in a shootout. The Islanders (1-3) earned their first win of the season, a 4–2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, led by a hat trick from Bo Horvat.
The Sens went 1-2 against the Islanders last season, and Saturday’s starting goalie, Ilya Sorokin, has had their number. He’s 4-0-1 lifetime against the Senators with a 1.97 GAA and a .942 save percentage. That said, he's off to a slow start this season with an 0-3-0 mark, a 4.18 GAA, and an .854 save percentage. David Rittich got the Isles win on Thursday. Ullmark is a good bet to go again for Ottawa.
Schaefer’s Strong Start
After the Islanders finished with 82 points last season, and ahead of nine other teams, the NHL bestowed the number one overall pick on them, thanks to the league’s silly draft lottery rules.
They used that pick to draft defenseman Matthew Schaefer first overall in June, and his early reviews have been excellent. Schaefer has four points in four games, and considering that he just turned 18 last month, his early poise has been incredible, and his average ice time of 21:53 leads all Islander defensemen.
This will be Schaefer’s first game back in Ottawa since the World Juniors, when he broke his collarbone in a game against Latvia, ending his season on December 27.
Notables
The game also marks a homecoming for J.G. Pageau, an Ottawa native and fan favourite during his time with the Senators. It's hard to believe he's already in the final year of that six-year, 30-million-dollar deal he signed after the Sens traded him to the Islanders. He was mentioned in trade rumours over the summer and, depending on how the Islanders are doing, could be a trade chip at the deadline. Former Senator Anthony Duclair also returns for the Isles.
For the Sens, one of the season’s best storylines so far has been the quick start of Shane Pinto. The 24-year-old centre is in a contract year and has picked the perfect time to break out, scoring six goals in his first five games — good for a share of the NHL goal-scoring lead.
Sens fans have long known about Pinto’s potential, but he’s never scored more than 21 goals in a season before. As the Sens continue to juggle in the absence of Brady Tkachuk, it's getting harder and harder to identify Pinto as the club's third-line centre. Based on ice time, he's been their clear number two behind Tim Stutzle.
Senators Remain Loyal To Struggling Penalty Kill FormationWith the second-worst PK in the league, is it time for the Senators to switch away from their diamond formation?Projected Lineups
From NHL.com — subject to change
Ottawa Senators
Forwards
Ridly Greig – Tim Stützle – Claude Giroux
Michael Amadio – Shane Pinto – Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron – Dylan Cozens – Drake Batherson
Nick Cousins – Lars Eller – Arthur Kaliyev
Defense
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence
Goaltenders
Linus Ullmark
Leevi Meriläinen
Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Nikolas Matinpalo
New York Islanders
Forwards
Anthony Duclair – Mathew Barzal – Kyle Palmieri
Jonathan Drouin – Bo Horvat – Emil Heineman
Anders Lee – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Maxim Shabanov
Simon Holmstrom – Casey Cizikas – Kyle MacLean
Defense
Matthew Schaefer – Scott Mayfield
Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock
Alexander Romanov – Tony DeAngelo
Goaltenders
Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich
Scratched: Marc Gatcomb, Adam Boqvist, Maxim Tsyplakov Injured: Pierre Engvall (hip surgery), Semyon Varlamov (knee surgery), Ethan Bear (upper body)
Romanov missed Friday’s practice and may be replaced by Boqvist.
Face off is 3 pm, TSN 5, RDS.
Prior to the game, the Sens are running with an Oktoberfest theme for fans starting at noon. Calendars, hand-drawn by Claude Giroux's son, Gavin, will be on sale in support of CHEO.
My guy🥹🥰 I’ve been adoring his annual calendars for three years now! I’m so excited to share this one with all of you! Even happier to be giving back in such a fun and special way. Gavy bear, don’t ever change 🫶🏼 @28CGirouxhttps://t.co/Pf4dUCS8Te
— Ryanne Giroux (@ryannegiroux) October 17, 2025
More Sens headlines at the Hockey News Ottawa:
Senators Send Swedish Winger Down To The Minors on Friday
Tkachuk Has Successful Thumb Surgery And Will Miss 6-8 Weeks
Sens Call Up Kaliyev As Tkachuk Goes On IR
Senators Suffer Discouraging 8-4 Loss At Buffalo
Senators Lose Sebrango, Claimed Off Waivers By Florida
An Early Glance At The Senators' Goaltending Pipeline