The Senators hope to build on their victory over Columbus on Thursday and take advantage of a Wild team in sudden transition from a blockbuster trade.
After snapping a three-game losing slide on Thursday night in Columbus, the Ottawa Senators hope they’ve entered the start of better days. Prior to their 6–3 victory over the Blue Jackets, the Senators had lost five of their previous six games and, as a result, slipped badly in the Eastern Conference standings.
On Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.), the Senators will face the Minnesota Wild, who will surely be forgiven if their heads are still spinning from the blockbuster news of the past 24 hours.
On Friday, the Wild acquired star defenceman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenceman Zeev Buium, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft.
The timing is perfect for the Senators, because not only is this probably a major shock to the Minnesota dressing room, pulling well-liked teammates away from the team, but Hughes – the crown jewel in the deal – won't be ready to make his debut with the Wild until Sunday against the Boston Bruins.
The Senators should come into this game feeling good about themselves offensively. Tim Stützle had two goals against Columbus, Drake Batherson had a goal and two assists, Dylan Cozens had three helpers, and Claude Giroux, Michael Amadio, and David Perron each had a goal and an assist.
But at 17-9-5, the Wild will be a much tougher out than the Blue Jackets.
The Senators will make at least one change to their lineup. With the injury to Lars Eller in Columbus, he won’t be available for at least the next two games and probably longer, so it’s a good bet that Stephen Halliday will take his spot as the fourth-line centre. Olle Lycksell was called up from Belleville on Saturday morning, but Kurtis MacDermid is expected to dress as a 12th forward.
And why not? He doesn't play much, but the Sens are 7-1-2 when MacDermid suits up.
The official line combinations won’t be known until closer to game time, but here are the projections from NHL.com.
Senators projected lineup
Brady Tkachuk — Tim Stützle — Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron — Dylan Cozens — Drake Batherson
Michael Amadio — Ridly Greig — Claude Giroux
Kurtis MacDermid — Stephen Halliday — Nick Cousins
Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Tyler Kleven — Jordan Spence
Nikolas Matinpalo — Nick Jensen
Leevi Merilainen
Linus Ullmark
Scratched: Dennis Gilbert, Olle Lycksell
Injured: Thomas Chabot (upper body), Shane Pinto (lower body), Lars Eller (lower body)
Along with Hughes, the Wild have some key players out of the lineup right now, including Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Foligno and former 67s defenseman Jacob Middleton. Former Senator Vladimir Tarasenko is on the top line with Kirill Kaprizov and Danila Yurov, a rare all-Russian line.
Wild projected lineup
Kirill Kaprizov — Danila Yurov — Vladimir Tarasenko
Marcus Johansson — Joel Eriksson Ek — Matt Boldy
Yakov Trenin — Ryan Hartman — Nicolas Aubé-Kubel
Ben Jones — Nico Sturm — Tyler Pitlick
Jonas Brodin — Brock Faber
Daemon Hunt — Jared Spurgeon
Zach Bogosian — David Jiříček
Filip Gustavsson
Jesper Wallstedt
Scratched: Quinn Hughes, Matt Kiersted
Injured: Marcus Foligno (lower body), Vinnie Hinostroza (lower body), Mats Zuccarello (upper body), Jacob Middleton (upper body)
Faceoff is 2 pm Eastern.
TV: TSN5, TVAS,
Audio: TSN 1200 AM, TSN1200.ca
Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa
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