Oct 13, 2025; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators center Dylan Cozens (24) and Nashville Predators defenseman Nick Perbix (48) track the puck following a save by goalie Juuse Saros (74) in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre. Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
After getting three out of a possible four points in their two home games to open the season, the Nashville Predators took to the road to start a four-game road swing across Canada.
Their first stop was Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa Monday against the Senators in an early afternoon contest on Canadian Thanksgiving Day.
In the end, it was the Predators who gave thanks, coming away with a 4-1 victory to start the season 2-0-1 and notch their first road win. Jonathan Marchessault scored two goals including an empty-netter, while Ryan O’Reilly lit the lamp for the second time this season, and Cole Smith also got an empty-net tally.
The Preds started and finished strong, something that has been an issue for the team over the past year. Juuse Saros has looked unstoppable through three games, stopping 30 of 31 shots he faced on Monday.
After playing in the first two games, Brady Martin was a healthy scratch against the Senators. This is part of his development plan, according to head coach Andrew Brunette. He will most likely be back in the lineup for Tuesday’s game in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.
Here are three takeaways from the Predators’ victory.
The Predators Showed Intensity Early
Through much of last season and the first two games of this young campaign, the Predators have had a tendency to come out of the gate sluggish.
Against the Sens, they showed some intensity early in the first period and did a nice job forechecking, creating turnovers and passing the puck.
There were some lags, of course, including a 10-minutes span during the middle frame when the Predators failed to get off a shot.
Marchessault finally got the Predators on the board at 12:21 of the period for his first goal of the season. Michael Bunting and Erik Haula each picked up an assist.
It was difficult to get into a consistent flow in the first period, with 14 penalty minutes assessed between the two teams. But the Preds showed some signs of taking the game to their opponent right from the start, which is especially important on the road.
The real test will come when Nashville plays the second of a back-to-back Tuesday in Toronto.
Special Teams Are Once Again A Mixed Bag
The Preds’ penalty-kill unit came into Monday perfect in five chances through the first two games of the season. Aside from one blemish that netted the Sens’ only goal late in the third period, the PK was solid once again.
The unit was put to the test early against Ottawa, and successfully converted on three chances in the first period alone.
During a Sens power play for delay of game, Fedor Svechkov went to the sin bin for interference with 37 seconds left on the man advantage.
Roman Josi then went off for cross-checking Brady Tkachuk to put Ottawa in a 5-on-3. Cole Smith almost got a shorthanded tally for the Predators on a nice setup from Erik Haula at 5-on-4, but Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark denied him. Nashville got through the entire sequence successfully.
For the day, Nashville went 4-for-5 on the PK. Ridly Greig’s power-play tally at 17:57 broke the perfect streak of 9-for-9 on the season.
It’s a great start for a unit that finished seventh in the NHL at 81.5%.
The power play, however, continued to struggle. The Preds did not score on all six of their chances with the man advantage.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. Filip Forsberg was robbed twice by Ullmark on two great scoring opportunities after a breakaway on the first power play.
Steven Stamkos had another chance on a later man advantage when Shane Pinto went off for holding Forsberg. Once again, Ullmark was up to the task.
Including Monday’s game, the Predators power-play unit is 1-for-15 through three games. Fortunately, it hasn’t hurt them to a great deal to this point, but that will certainly change over the long haul if it doesn’t improve.
Goaltending Made A Difference Once Again
Coming into the season, there were questions about whether Juuse Saros could regain his form of 2023-24, when he posted a 2.86 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.
Through the first three games, the Finnish netminder has answered that question with a resounding YES. He has 88 saves on 93 shots faced, sporting a .945 save percentage.
On Monday, he stopped 30 of 31 shots and made numerous key saves, including one following O’Reilly’s goal.
Along with that, the Preds defense has backed him up well, blocking shots and making the difference in the two victories.
