Through five games into the Ottawa Senators' 2025-26 season, the team has a 2-3-0 overall record. Even though it's five games, some panic has been there from some of the fans.
Captain Brady Tkachuk suffered an injury in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators after being cross-checked by Predators defenseman Roman Josi. On Wednesday, it was announced Tkachuk would miss a significant amount of time.
Not having Tkachuk in the lineup can be crucial for the Senators to not fall too behind in the standings. A new recent power ranking showed just how important Tkachuk is to his team.
Senators ranked in the bottom in new power ranking on Bleacher Report
Yesterday, Bleacher Report's Lyle Fitzsimmons wrote an article titled "NHL Power Ranking After the 1st Week of the 2025-26 Season. Fitzsimmons ranked the Senators 27th out of 32 teams.
Before last night's game against the Seattle Kraken, the Senators were dealt worse news on Tkachuk's injury that he will be out longer than four weeks. Tkachuk had thumb surgery that will cause him to miss 6-8 weeks.
The first game without Tkachuk on Wednesday was a disaster with losing 8-4 to the Buffalo Sabres on the road. However, the Senators responded last night showing they can play without their captain.
The Senators completed a comeback win in a shootout against the Kraken. Shane Pinto and Dylan Cozens were two huge players to help complete the win in Tkachuk's absence.
Although it is five games and the Senators do have two wins, it's important that fans don't panic too much. After all, the Senators had a slow start last season before 2025 started when the team was 10-12-2 after a shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 1. Then, the Senators made the 2025 playoffs.
Tomorrow afternoon's game against the New York Islanders will be another test to see how the Senators can adjust without having Tkachuk in the lineup.