The Ottawa Senators began the season with two straight losses and then won four in a row, with everything looking peachy at that time. Now they’ve lost four in a row, but can they swing the pendulum back and begin a winning streak tonight? They will face off against the Philadelphia Flyers, who have a fine record of 5-3-2, but they have been getting lucky and it’s hard to say they have a strong lineup.

This is certainly not a guaranteed win, but it’s a perfect opportunity to end an ugly skid for the Senators. Here are the projected lines as of now:

Game Notes:

• This is Cam Talbot’s first start of the season, so we’ll see if there is any rust. He came in to relieve Anton Forsberg on Thursday and stopped all 13 shots, so that’s a good start. He doesn’t need to be a saviour, but another competent NHL goalie would be a great luxury.
• Claude Giroux will play his former team for the first time tonight, which is strange for him considering he never thought he would leave until last year.
• It looks like Jacob Bernard-Docker won’t be in the lineup despite getting the callup. DJ Smith said he wants to get him in for a good stretch of games, although who knows when that will be.
• The Flyers have a very thin lineup, especially after losing Sean Couturier for a long period of time. They’ve been able to stay competitive so far, and a big reason for that is due to Carter Hart and his .943 SV% in 7 games. He has the ability to steal a game, but Ottawa desperately needs to find a way to win tonight.
• Scott Laughton and Brady Tkachuk have an...interesting history:

• Alex DeBrincat has just 2 goals on the season but he’s shooting 4.3%, and his career average is 15.5%. He’s fourth in the NHL in shots/60, so he’s bound to have a big game soon.
• The game starts at 7:00 EST and can be seen on Sportsnet1 and TVAS2.