Gameday notes before the Senators home opener: Ullmark ready, Eklund moving on up

The Ottawa Senators are preparing for their first home game of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday evening. Many fans are excited to get their first taste of the Senators in their own arena, with the team sporting a slightly different look from the last time they played there. Here are some gameday notes before puck drop.

Linus Ullmark will start for the Senators

The Senators' No. 1 goalie, Linus Ullmark, will find himself between the pipes for the home opener. There were definitely some concerns about his health after he did not finish the game against the Boston Bruins on Monday evening. The Senators called up Jonas Johansson to back up Samuel Ersson against the Detroit Red Wings, but Johansson was sent down Thursday morning, signaling that Ullmark is ready to go.

So far this season, Ullmark is 2–0 with a .949 save percentage. Of course, this is a very small sample size, but he is providing the level of goaltending the Senators will need to start the season the right way. He looks much calmer and cooler in net and is tracking the puck much better.

William Eklund moves up in the lineup

It took three games for William Eklund to earn his first point, and Travis Green has liked what he has seen enough to move him to the top line with Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson.

Eklund has been driving play exceptionally well to start the season for the Senators but did not have any points to show for it. His fortunes changed Tuesday evening when he tallied a goal and an assist. There has been a revolving door of players filling the role of Stützle and Batherson's other linemate, and before his injury, Andre Burakovsky was pencilled in for the role (and looked really good there). But now, Eklund finds himself exactly where many fans thought he would be when he was acquired: right alongside Stützle. There is going to be a lot of speed and creativity on that top line, and it is going to be exciting to watch.

Jake Sanderson is still not practicing

Jake Sanderson played only 4:29 this season before leaving the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Losing arguably the best player on the team was not how the Senators hoped to start the season. Sanderson has yet to practise, and that trend continued Thursday morning. While fellow injured players Artem Zub and Burakovsky both returned in regular jerseys, Sanderson was nowhere to be found. With the way the Senators have been able to utilize the defencemen they have available, Sanderson's absence has not been as crucial as it would have been in previous years, but they still need him.

There still has not been an official update from the team on his health, other than that he is considered day-to-day. Travis Green has yet to provide any further update on Sanderson since the one he gave on Monday: “I would call it not as serious as we were hoping it wasn't going to be.” Sanderson has been back in Ottawa for testing since then. But Elliotte Friedman gave an update on Twitter on Sanderson this afternoon.

Zub and Burakovsky are close

Both Zub and Burakovsky practised on Thursday, and Green mentioned that they are both close to returning but will not play in the home opener. Expect both of them back within the next game or two. For Ottawa's sake, getting these guys into the lineup sooner rather than later takes the burden off of the more relied upon players and no longer requires sheltering of other players.

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