Five reasons the Senators are off to their best start in 12 years

Story illustration — Linus Ullmark and Tim Stützle of the Ottawa Senators celebrate after a 3-2 shootout win against the Nashville Predators at the Canadian Tire Centre on Oct. 10, 2026. Their play has helped propel the Senators to a 4-1-0 start. Photo by Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photo / Getty Images

The Ottawa Senators have got off to a 4-1-0 start despite dealing with early season injuries

The hill that the Ottawa Senators have chosen to start the season is to battle through adversity.

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The Senators headed straight to the Ottawa International Airport on Sunday to head to New Jersey to prepare to face the Devils on Monday night at the Prudential Center.

The Senators, who moved their record to 4-1-0 with a remarkable 3-2 comeback victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night at the Canadian Tire Centre, are off to their best start in 12 years.

And they have achieved this without their top defensive pairing of Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub.

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The former hasn’t suited up since Sanderson left the club’s season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 3, while the latter is closing in on a return from a knee injury Zub suffered in April.

The expectation is that Zub will play soon because he has resumed skating with his teammates, but Sanderson remains out indefinitely. He has been skating on his own, but not with the Senators.

The Senators made another roster move on Sunday by placing defenceman Cam Crotty on injured reserve and recalling Jorian Donovan from their American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville.

Crotty was a late scratch on Thursday when the Senators played Philadelphia, and coach Travis Green told reporters “he wasn’t feeling well” after the skate.

So, why the hot start? Here are a few reasons why the Senators are 4-1-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign:

Tim Stützle’s next level

The Senators’ top centre is doing it all at both ends of the ice.

He has four goals and eight points in the club’s first five games of the year, and if there was any doubt that Stützle would be among the National Hockey League’s elite, that has been erased. He also has a plus-five rating in that stretch.

Stützle, 24, played more than 26 minutes against the Predators and contributed a goal and an assist. He’s on the ice in all situations, and even Green noted on Saturday, “I’ve got to watch Tim’s minutes because he likes to play a lot.”

He looks like someone who is determined to take his game to the next level, and he is being followed by the rest of the club. His goal on Nashville’s Matt Murray in the shootout was filthy, and Stützle has been a factor in every game this season.

That one's going to the highlight reel 🎞️ https://t.co/dvlJquSzW9 pic.twitter.com/Q1PnRi8YHQ — NHL (@NHL) October 11, 2026

The Ottawa Senators’ Tim Stützle, who has four goals and eight points in the club’s first five games, played more than 26 minutes against the Nashville Predators on Saturday night. Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia

Source: Ottawa Citizen ↗