With such a talented young roster, if the Senators can avoid yet another brutal start and stay relatively healthy, everything else should take care of itself.

OTTAWA SENATORS

Last Year: 39-35-8 (86 points), 6th in the Atlantic Division (finished six points out of the playoffs)

THN Ottawa PREDICTION: 3rd in the Atlantic Division

Check out the other Atlantic Division Projections:

Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens

Keys to the Season:

1. Having All Hands on Deck

The Senators are a good young team but they need to stay reasonably healthy for five seconds. Josh Norris is already a major concern, missing all of training camp. This time last year, Norris was the club's number-one centre and had just signed a huge long-term deal. But he quickly re-injured his shoulder early in the season, had surgery in January and now, with the season about to start, it still isn't right. Last year, Shane Pinto filled in admirably, but now he's waiting to re-sign and the Sens have no cap room. The good news is, one of them will probably be back soon. Either Norris will return to action or he'll go on LTIR to allow for the re-signing of Pinto. But overall health is the biggest key.

2. A Better Start

In 2019, head coach D.J. Smith arrived in Ottawa to captain a ship that was still under construction (fun fact: The Titanic's captain was a guy named E.J. Smith). Under Smith, the Senators have improved every year, but their starts have been dreadful. Every year under Smith, the Senators' first 20 games have been so poor, that their playoff chances were derailed by December, no matter how well they rallied in the second half of the season. There's no question that the rebuild and injuries played a large role, but it no longer matters. Another bad start won't fly this season and Smith and his staff won't survive it.

3. Goaltending

Neither goalie has a long NHL track record of helping carry teams into meaningful games and on into the playoffs. But one or both will need to be a lot better than Senator goalies of the recent past. Injuries played a big role last season as the club rolled out seven different starting goalies. With the best top four defencemen they've had in years, that should make things a lot easier for this year's duo. This former Columbus goaltending tandem worked nicely in the minors to the tune of a 2016 Calder Trophy title.

Most-Likely Scenario: The Senators aren't just talented enough to return to the playoffs, they're talented enough to do some damage when they get there. Their young core has seen a lot of dark days and, while analytics won't show you this, they might now be the hungriest team in the league. The Senators will finish in third place in a tight division with 102 points.

Worst-Case Scenario: The team has a lot of players who would now fall under the category of injury prone. If that continues for them this season, all bets are off. The division is too good to get away with five AHL replacement players in your lineup.