Philadelphia was beaten 7-0 on opening night, then lost twice in overtime, 3-2 in New Jersey and 3-2 at home to the Stanley Cup champions, before losing in Tampa Bay on Monday. Four defeats, two points.
Senators vs Flyers has a habit of finishing inside a goal. All three meetings last season ended with one between them, Ottawa taking every one, and two went to extra time.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Game | Philadelphia Flyers at Ottawa Senators |
| Date | Thursday 8 October 2026 |
| Puck drop | 7:00pm ET · 6:00pm CT · 5:00pm MT · 4:00pm PT |
| Venue | Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa |
| 2025-26 head to head | Ottawa won all three, 7-4 |
| 2025-26 finish | Ottawa 9th (99 pts), Philadelphia 11th (98 pts) |
| Rest | Philadelphia with 2 days off, Ottawa with 1 day off |
How to watch
| Region | Broadcast |
|---|---|
| Canada | TSN5, RDSI |
| United States | NBCSP |
TSN5 and RDSI have it in Canada. Regional coverage can differ from the national listing, and our how to watch the NHL in Canada page has the full picture.
Senators vs Flyers odds
No Canadian price was up on 5 October. Boards land on our NHL odds page as they post.
Philadelphia is still looking for its first win
That 7-0 defeat to Pittsburgh was as bad as a score gets, and nothing since has matched it. The Flyers took the champions to overtime and lost a one-goal game in New Jersey, then went down 4-1 in Tampa Bay on Monday.
Joseph Woll made 37 saves against Carolina. Toronto traded him to Philadelphia in June and he has already given the Flyers two of the better goaltending performances of their week. Dan Vladar, who went 29-14-7 at 2.42 and .906 last season, is the other option.
Travis Konecny led the scoring last season on 68 points at plus 14. Trevor Zegras added 67, Owen Tippett scored 28 goals and Matvei Michkov reached 51 points in his second season. Noah Cates finished at plus 26, the best figure on the roster.
Philadelphia finished 11th on 98 points, one behind Ottawa. The table said these were the same team.
How they compare
| 2025-26 | Philadelphia Flyers | Ottawa Senators |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 43-27-12 | 44-27-11 |
| Points | 98 | 99 |
| Goals for per game | 2.93 | 3.35 |
| Goals against per game | 2.91 | 2.99 |
| Power play | 15.7% | 24.0% |
| Penalty kill | 77.6% | 75.7% |
One point apart last season. Ottawa scored 35 more goals; Philadelphia conceded six fewer.
Ottawa has a new captain and the same problem
Brady Tkachuk went to Florida in June for two first-round picks, a conditional first and a second. Thomas Chabot wears the C now, and he scored in the 3-2 win in Toronto on Saturday.
Tim Stützle carries the scoring. Eighty-three points last season on 34 goals, with Drake Batherson on 71 and Dylan Cozens on 59. Claude Giroux, who spent nine seasons in Philadelphia, added 49 points at plus 20 at the age of 38.
Linus Ullmark went 28-12-8 at 2.73 with three shutouts last season and made 27 saves in Toronto, but he left Monday’s win in Boston after two periods following a collision in the crease and is listed day to day.
Jake Sanderson is the concern. Fifty-four points from defence at plus 16 last season, and he was ruled out of the back-to-back in Boston and Detroit with a lower-body injury after going home for tests. The Senators also played in Boston on Monday and play in Detroit on Tuesday before this, so the schedule is unkind.
Three meetings, three one-goal games
| Date | Result | Venue | Decided in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-23 | Ottawa 2-1 Philadelphia | Ottawa | – |
| 2025-11-08 | Ottawa 3-2 Philadelphia | Philadelphia | OT |
| 2026-02-05 | Ottawa 2-1 Philadelphia | Philadelphia | OT |
Seven goals to four across the three, two of them settled in overtime, and none of the three reaching six goals in total. This is about as tight as a season series gets.
Team news
| Player | Club | Status | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Barkey | Philadelphia | Injured Reserve, Lower Body | No timetable |
| Helge Grans | Philadelphia | Injured Reserve, Lower Body | No timetable |
| Rasmus Ristolainen | Philadelphia | Out, undisclosed | No timetable |
| Nikita Grebenkin | Philadelphia | Injured Reserve, Upper Body | No timetable |
| Jake Sanderson | Ottawa | Out, lower body | Ruled out in Boston and Detroit |
| Linus Ullmark | Ottawa | Day to day, undisclosed | Left Monday’s game after two periods |
| Artem Zub | Ottawa | Injured Reserve, Knee | No timetable |
| Kurtis MacDermid | Ottawa | Injured Reserve, Upper Body | No timetable |
Four Philadelphia names and four Ottawa ones, with Sanderson and Ullmark the heaviest of them. League-wide availability is on our NHL injury report.
Players to watch
Claude Giroux. Nine seasons and a captaincy in Philadelphia, and he is still producing at 38.
Joseph Woll. Thirty-seven saves against the champions, having been traded out of Toronto in the summer.
Tim Stützle. Eighty-three points and the first name on Ottawa’s sheet now Tkachuk has gone.
Matvei Michkov. Fifty-one points in his second season, and the reason Philadelphia thinks the window is opening.
Score prediction
Philadelphia Flyers 2-3 Ottawa Senators. The Senators took all three of these last season without ever winning by more than one. Philadelphia keeps coming close.
Senators vs Flyers prediction
One point separated these clubs last season and three one-goal games followed. There is no reason to expect anything different.
Ottawa holds the edge at the top of the lineup, where Stützle sits. In goal it is closer than the names suggest: Vladar’s .906 last season beat Ullmark’s .891, and Ullmark is day to day. Philadelphia’s case is that two of its four games went to overtime and it is overdue.
The schedule favours the visitors. Ottawa plays Monday and Tuesday before this; Philadelphia has longer to prepare.
Our lean: Ottawa, and the under if the total sits at 6 or higher. None of the three meetings last season reached six goals, and Philadelphia has scored two or fewer in all four of its games. Where both sit against the other 30 is on our NHL power rankings.
Puck drop is 7:00pm ET on Thursday 8 October 2026 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. That is 6:00pm CT, 5:00pm MT and 4:00pm PT.
The Senators took all three, never by more than one goal, and two went to overtime. Seven goals to four across the series.
Yes. Toronto traded him to the Flyers in June. He made 37 saves in the overtime loss to Carolina on Saturday.
He was ruled out of Ottawa’s games in Boston on Monday and Detroit on Tuesday with a lower-body injury and went home for tests. Check his status closer to Thursday.
Philadelphia is 0-2-2, with two of its four defeats coming in overtime. Ottawa won 3-2 in Toronto and 4-1 in Boston, and plays in Detroit on Tuesday.
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