Senators vs Blues: Prediction, Team News and a New-Look St. Louis

Result: St. Louis Blues 7-2 Ottawa Senators

St. Louis scored four times in the third period. Pius Suter, Jake Neighbours and Mason McTavish each scored twice, Suter’s opener coming shorthanded. Claude Giroux and a late Fabian Zetterlund power-play goal were all Ottawa managed from 17 shots. Samuel Ersson started and faced 26, stopping 19. Linus Ullmark did not dress a minute.

Our pick: Ottawa. Wrong, and not narrowly. We leaned on Ottawa at home with Ullmark, and Ullmark was not in the building. That is the second time in a week a call of ours has rested on a goaltender who turned out not to be dressed, after the Shesterkin miss on Sunday. We are checking the morning skate before the argument gets written from here. The under at 6 or higher lost as well, with nine.

The preview as published before the game follows.

The Blues took both meetings last season and have rebuilt the middle of their forward group since. Neither of their two leading scorers was in St. Louis a year ago.

Senators vs Blues brings a 1-2-1 club with a goaltender in form against one that has won three of four.

How to watch

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 Blues odds

Moneyline prices from 6 Canadian sportsbooks, captured on 2026-10-13. American odds throughout.

These are stored prices rather than live ones, and a hockey line moves the moment a starting goaltender is confirmed, so check before you bet. Availability varies by province: PlayAlberta and PlayNow are provincial platforms rather than open-market books, and the private sportsbooks operate where they hold a licence. Our NHL betting sites page sets out which operates where, and who is expected in net is on our projected NHL starting goalies page.

St. Louis looks nothing like last season’s team

Connor McMichael has four points and Mason McTavish three. One arrived from Washington, the other from Anaheim, and between them they have changed what this team looks like down the middle.

Jimmy Snuggerud has two points and Philip Broberg two assists from the blue line. Nine goals in four games is thin, but the shape is new.

In goal, Joel Hofer has taken three of the four starts at .930 and is now clearly ahead of Jordan Binnington, who went 0-1-0 at .833 in the other.

Finishing 22nd and first out of the playoff race in the West is what prompted all of it. This is a club deliberately trying to look different.

How they compare

Thirteen points separated these clubs last season and St. Louis still won the series.

Ottawa is winning without two defencemen

Linus Ullmark is 3-0-0 at .956. He has not lost a game he has finished and made 28 saves on 29 against Philadelphia on Thursday.

Tim Stützle has six points. Claude Giroux and Shane Pinto have three apiece and Michael Amadio has three of his own.

The blue line is short. Jake Sanderson is out and Artem Zub is on injured reserve, which is most of Ottawa’s puck movement from the back.

William Eklund, who came from San Jose, is day to day. He has two points in three games.

St. Louis won both meetings last season

Both finished inside a goal, and the 2-1 in Ottawa in December was the tighter of the two.

Team news

Sanderson’s absence is the one that shapes this. League-wide availability is on our NHL injury report.

Players to watch

Linus Ullmark. Three starts, three wins and a .956 save percentage.

Connor McMichael. Four points in four games in his first season as a Blue.

Tim Stützle. Six points in four and Ottawa’s first name since Brady Tkachuk left for Florida.

Joel Hofer. A .930 across three starts, and he has taken the job off Binnington.

Score prediction

St. Louis Blues 2-3 Ottawa Senators. Ottawa has the better record, the better goaltender and home ice. St. Louis took both meetings last season and both were one-goal games, which is why this stays tight.

Senators vs Blues prediction

Ottawa should win. Three wins from four, Ullmark stopping almost everything, and a forward group producing more than St. Louis’s nine goals in four games.

The caution is the series. Neither of last season’s meetings was decided by more than a goal, and Hofer is playing well enough to make this another.

Ottawa’s missing defencemen could decide it. Two new centres finding their range against a short blue line is exactly the matchup that gets exposed.

Our lean: Ottawa, and the under if the total sits at 6 or higher. Both meetings last season were one-goal games and both goaltenders are at .930 or better. Where each sits is on our NHL power rankings.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Odds are approximate at the time of writing and changeconstantly. Availability varies by province. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.