What a homestand it has been for the Ottawa Senators so far. They began the season 0-2-0 on the road, but have nicely follow it up with back-to-back home wins against the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals, 7-5 and 5-2, respectively. Both games have been very entertaining, and the Senators showcased just how good they can really be. They still have three games left on this homestand, and this afternoon they’ll face-off against a much inferior competition: the Arizona Coyotes.

Let’s be honest: the Coyotes roster is absolutely dreadful. Then again, last season the Coyotes beat the Senators 8-5 and 5-3 despite being a similarly awful team. These “easy wins” can be trap games, and hopefully Ottawa is able to keep pressing just as hard as they did against Boston and Washington. With a win, they can get to over .500 for the first time this season, something that they were only able to do twice last season—after games one and three.

As of now, here are the projected lines for tonight (subject to change):

Game Notes

• Anton Forsberg starts tonight despite the fact that some believed Magnus Hellberg might be between the pipes. I think Hellberg would have been a wise choice given the competition, as he’ll need to play at some point. The Senators don’t have a back-to-back until December 2nd/3rd, so we’ll see how long it takes for Hellberg to get a start.
• It’s interesting that Derick Brassard hasn’t been able to get into the lineup. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess.
• Alex DeBrincat’s “slow start” has him with one goal and three assists in four games. He has been flying on the ice and it won’t be long before he has a non-empty net goal or even a multi-goal game. He does so many things well out there that lead to many offensive chances.
• As noted below, the Senators rank 9th in xGF% so far, which is quite impressive. They should be able to improve on that number tonight, there are no excuses.
• There aren’t many players the Senators need to watch out for tonight, although Shayne Gostisbehere and Nick Ritchie are off to hot starts. Clayton Keller can be dangerous, and Dylan Guenther, who was taken 9th overall in 2021, will be interesting to watch.
• Ottawa’s all-time record vs. Arizona is 19-20-2-2 although they’re just 1-6-1 against them over their last 8.
• The game starts at 4:00 EST on TSN5 and TVAS2.