Welcome to another Senators edition of NHL Predictions with us here at Last Word On Hockey. Today we feature the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Ottawa Senators, on what is their back-half of a back-to-back after dropping one to the Utah Mammoth 3-1 last evening. Find out if we think the Sens, desperate for wins, can show a little of that feeling on the ice, or if Colorado shows why they are the class of the NHL.
NHL Predictions Ottawa Senators at Colorado Avalanche
First of two meetings for the clubs this year. The next one is on January 28th, at the Canadian Tire Centre. Last year, Colorado went 2-0 versus Ottawa, outscoring them 10-5.
How to Watch on TV: RDS2, TSN5, ALT, KTVD
Location: The Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado
Puck Drop: 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
This might be a good time to face Colorado. You know, the team running away with the Presidents’ Trophy race, thus far. The team with only four regulation losses. But, and it is a big one, the Avs have lost their last two games in regulation. Of course, it was the dreaded Florida trip, losing to the Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, but you get the idea. The problem for Colorado, however, is part of the why. They are without three star players from their roster. Missing right now are Devon Toews, Mackenzie Blackwood, and Gabriel Landeskog.
Not to say the Sens don’t have their own injury issues to content with. Their star number one tender, Linus Ullmark, remains on a leave of absence from the club. However, in order to make room for their fourth-line centre, Lars Eller, coming back from a broken foot, the club has just announced, Ullmark has been moved to the non-roster designstion. That means Stephen Halliday, who has been a brilliant call-up filler, gets to stay up with the big club. The Sens love getting the veteran, recently named to the Denmark team for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, back in that bottom-six forward group.
In order to make room for Lars Eller on our 23-man roster, we have moved Linus Ullmark to a non-roster spot.
De façon à faciliter le retour de Lars Eller dans notre formation de 23 joueurs, nous avons déplacé Linus Ullmark vers la liste des joueurs inactifs.
— Sens Communications (@Media_Sens) January 8, 2026
The Story for the Senators
For Ottawa, they need to find a way to get wins. They have had injuries to significant players. Shane Pinto, Thomas Chabot, and captain Brady Tkachuk have all missed time. In contrast, they are all back, and yet, Ottawa has been on a 2-4-1 stretch coming into this game. Analytically, the Sens do well to outplay teams. They remain third in the league in team expected goal percentage at 5v5 with a 54.5% mark. Furthermore, they score well. Their power play is seventh at 24.1%, and they are 11th in goals-for-per-game at 3.19.
Conversely, as well as they are playing when focusing on the goals-for, it hasn’t translated to the old win column. Their team save percentage is an abysmal .871. Penalty kill, likewise as bad at 73.8%, good for 31st in the league. However, as has been pointed out recently, their penalty kill has been vastly improving after a tough start. The Sens need to trust the process, but they also need a little puck luck. If they don’t soon make a move, they can say bye-bye to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Can the Sens Stop the Avalanche
Colorado, what can we say, an absolute wagon. Nathan MacKinnon is having an incredible season. If he manages to play in all 82 games, his current pace has him over 68 goals. Since 1992-93, when Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne netted 76, only two players have been over that 68-goal mark. Mario Lemieux had 69 in 1995-96 and Auston Matthews had the same number two years ago. Needless to say, MacKinnon is having a monster year. He looks to bring team success to both the Avalanche and Team Canada at the Olympics. The Sens are probably best to game plan just to minimize his impact, not to stop it all together.
As a team, the Avs have the top penalty kill (85%). They are also first in both goals-for (3.95) and goals-against (2.21). And they don’t have a great power play (16.1%, good for 26th).
NHL Predictions
Okay, well the goaltending matchup is expected to be Scott Wedgewood (18-3-4) against Mads Sogaard. Sogaard, 25, has 29 games of NHL experience under his belt, with the majority of those games (19) coming back in 2022-23. This might be one of his last shots with the Senators organization at the NHL level. They can’t expect too much from him, but he would love a win for his personal confidence. We will take this time to drop our disclaimer to please check social media before locking in your daily fantasy lineup.
The Sens are hoping to play a bit loosey, goosey, and take advantage of a depleted Av lineup. Plus, they better find that desperation that is sorely needed. It might sound like a contradiction, but they can’t let the standings affect them. They have nothing to lose at this point.
Prediction: Avalanche 4 – Senators 3
Prop Bets
As an Av anytime goal scorer, Brock Nelson is riding a six-game point streak. He has five goals and four assists in that run. In his last three games, he has 15 shots. For the Sens, we like Dylan Cozens to find twine. He is up to 15 shots over his last five games, and playing in the hard zones, such as net front and down-low boards.
Main Photo: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
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