Other than Foegele, the Senators' lineup stays the same, while Seattle may have to make several changes due to a flu bug going through their team.
The Ottawa Senators will have a new face in the lineup Saturday night when they face the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. Veteran winger Warren Foegele will play his first game since being acquired by the Senators on Thursday from the Los Angeles Kings.
Senators head coach Travis Green will bring Foegele into the mix gradually, at least based on the line combinations at Saturday’s game-day skate. The 29-year-old winger is expected to start on the left side of the fourth line alongside Lars Eller and Fabian Zetterlund.
Zetterlund arrived in Ottawa under similar circumstances. Acquired at last year’s trade deadline with 17 goals already to his credit, he also began his Senators tenure on the fourth line before eventually working his way up the lineup.
Foegele is known primarily for his defensive reliability and penalty killing, but his offence has gone quiet this season. The veteran winger has just seven goals and two assists in 49 games, including two goals and one assist in his last 31 outings, so it shouldn't be a surprise he’ll begin in the bottom line.
Regardless, Foegele said he’s excited about the change of scenery.
“Yeah, it’s been a pretty wild 48 hours,” Foegele told reporters in Seattle after the morning skate. “I loved my time in L.A., just a great group of guys there. I had a lot of fun with those guys, and obviously, I’m going to miss them. But I’m super excited for this new opportunity.
“The guys here seem great and, just watching some games, I think it’s a style that brings me back to my roots. It’s kind of similar to playing in Carolina and fits the mould of the player that I am.”
Foegele’s arrival means someone has to come out of the lineup, and for the second straight game Stephen Halliday is expected to be a healthy scratch.
Halliday was a surprise scratch in Thursday night’s 4–1 win in Calgary, replaced by tough guy Kurtis MacDermid, who had been sitting out since late December. The move led to some speculation that Halliday may have been involved in trade discussions at one point, although the team said they simply wanted MacDermid in the lineup to add toughness against the Flames.
Foegele's debut is the only change to Saturday's combinations, and the Sens noob will wear his familiar number 37.
He's the eighth player to wear No. 37 in Senators history. According to Hockey Reference, the others are Yves Sarault (1999), Dean McAmmond (2007–09), Martin St. Pierre (2010), Corey Locke (2011), Casey Bailey (2017), Joshua Norris (2020) and Donovan Sebrango (2025–26).
While Norris became well known in Ottawa for wearing No. 9, he briefly wore No. 37 for three games in 2020 because Bobby Ryan held No. 9 until the Senators bought out his contract later that year.
The Senators are also beginning life without David Perron, who was traded back to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. But the Sens had already been adjusting to that reality. Perron had not played since undergoing sports hernia surgery on Jan. 20.
Prior to the injury, Perron had been heating up with four points in his final four games as a Senator. But with Perron set to turn 38 in May, carrying a $4-million cap hit and headed for unrestricted free agency this summer, it wasn’t a huge surprise that Ottawa opted to move forward and get something for him while they still could.
Linus Ullmark, despite a couple of shaky outings in there, hasn't been tagged with a regulation loss in 12 games (8-0-3). He'll start on Saturday versus former Senator Joey Daccord.
Here’s how the Sens are expected to line up tonight in Seattle.
Senators projected line combinations
Drake Batherson — Tim Stützle — Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk — Dylan Cozens — Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins — Shane Pinto — Michael Amadio
Warren Foegele — Lars Eller — Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven — Jordan Spence
Linus Ullmark
James Reimer
Kraken projected line combinations (NHL.com)
Jared McCann — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz — Chandler Stephenson — Eeli Tolvanen
Berkly Catton — Shane Wright — Kaapo Kakko
Jacob Melanson — Ben Meyers — Ryan Winterton
Vince Dunn — Cale Fleury
Jamie Oleksiak — Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura — Ryker Evans
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Seattle newcomer Bobby McMann will not play because of visa issues after being acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.
But that's not the only bad news for the Kraken.
There's also a bug of some kind going through the Kraken locker room. Defensemen Adam Larsson and Ryan Lindgren, along with forward Frederick Gaudreau, are all sick and missed the game-day skate. They'll be game-time decisions, and even if they can play, it's doubtful they'll be feeling their best.
In their last meeting back in October, the Senators came away with a 4-3 shootout victory. With Ottawa's net empty, Dylan Cozens scored the tying goal in the dying moments, and Tim Stutzle won it in the shootout.
The Senators begin play on Saturday night (10 pm Sportsnet, TVAS, City TV) six points out of a playoff spot after the Boston Bruins defeated the Washington Capitals 3–1 earlier in the day. Despite having a lesser record than the Sens, Seattle holds down the final wild-card spot in the West, but not by much. So they will be equally desperate.
With the trade deadline now behind them and such a big hill to climb, it's time for the Senators to get Kraken. Their goal on Saturday is to get out of Seattle with two points... and without getting sick.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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