Our Ottawa Senators vs Detroit Red Wings preview covers the odds, puck line, total, start time, TV channel and where to watch on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. The Ottawa Senators (2-0-0 this season; 44-27-11 in 2025-26) visit the Detroit Red Wings (0-2-0 this season; 41-31-10 in 2025-26) at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich. Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET (7:00 PM local). TV: DSN (U.S. regional) / TSN5 / RDS2 (Canada).
Storyline: Ottawa is on the second night of a back-to-back after a 4-1 win at Boston on Monday, Oct. 5. Detroit is 0-2-0 with two goals in two home games after a 2-0 loss to the Rangers and a 3-2 loss to Winnipeg on Sunday, and captain Dylan Larkin is on the injured non-roster list. ESPN lists Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson as out, and forward Andre Burakovsky went on injured reserve Monday. Detroit won three of four meetings last season, two in overtime (NHL.com). DraftKings lists Detroit at -115 and Ottawa at -105 on the moneyline, with the total at 5.5.
Ottawa Senators vs Detroit Red Wings Odds, Puck Line & Game Info
| Matchup | Ottawa Senators @ Detroit Red Wings |
|---|---|
| 2026-27 Records | Ottawa Senators 2-0-0 | Detroit Red Wings 0-2-0 |
| 2025-26 Records | Ottawa Senators 44-27-11 | Detroit Red Wings 41-31-10 |
| Head Coaches | OTT: Travis Green (3rd season) | DET: Todd McLellan (3rd season) |
| Puck Line | OTT -1.5 (+215) | DET +1.5 (-265) |
| Moneyline | Ottawa Senators: -105 | Detroit Red Wings: -115 |
| Total | O/U 5.5 (o-142 / u+120) |
| Venue | Little Caesars Arena (Detroit, Mich.) |
| Date / Time | Tuesday, October 6, 2026 — 7:00 PM ET |
| TV / How to Watch | DSN (U.S. regional) / TSN5 / RDS2 (Canada) |
| Probable Starting Goalies | OTT: TBD (Linus Ullmark / Samuel Ersson; Samuel Ersson started Monday) | DET: TBD (John Gibson / Daniil Tarasov) |
Odds via DraftKings (through ESPN), cross-checked on Action Network, as of Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, ~10:23 PM ET. Totals ranged from 5.5 to 6 across books at research time. Lines move, so check your sportsbook before puck drop. Starting goalies had not been confirmed at research time.
Ottawa Senators Preview: Last Season, Offseason & Goalies
2025-26 recap: Ottawa went 44-27-11 (99 points), finished fifth in the Atlantic Division and made the playoffs for the second straight season before the eventual champion Carolina Hurricanes swept the Senators in the first round. Tim Stutzle led the team with 83 points (34 goals, 49 assists), Drake Batherson scored 33 goals and Dylan Cozens scored 28 (NHL.com).
Offseason moves: Ottawa traded captain Brady Tkachuk to Florida on June 21 for the No. 9 and No. 25 selections in the 2026 draft and more, then sent the No. 9 selection to San Jose for forward William Eklund (53 points last season). The Senators acquired forward Andre Burakovsky from Chicago and signed goalie Samuel Ersson to a two-year, $4.4 million contract (NHL.com, TSN).
Key players & coach: Stutzle, Batherson, Cozens, Shane Pinto, Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, Claude Giroux and Ridly Greig lead the forwards. Thomas Chabot, Jordan Spence, Tyler Kleven, Nikolas Matinpalo and Carter Yakemchuk are on defense with Sanderson out. Travis Green is in his third season as coach.
Goalies: Linus Ullmark went 28-12-8 with a 2.73 GAA, .891 save percentage and three shutouts in 49 games last season and made 27 saves on 29 shots in the opener at Toronto. Ersson went 14-11-5 with a 3.12 GAA and .870 save percentage in 33 games for Philadelphia last season. Ottawa had not confirmed a starter for Tuesday at research time.
Season opener recap: Chabot scored at 18:51 of the first period, Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko (power play) scored for Toronto in the second, and Michael Amadio tied it later in the period. Stephen Halliday scored the winner at 9:46 of the third. Chabot had a goal and an assist, and Giroux had two assists (NHL.com).
Monday’s result: Ottawa beat Boston 4-1 at TD Garden on Monday, Oct. 5, so Tuesday’s game is the second night of a back-to-back. Ottawa goals: Tim Stützle (2), Drake Batherson and Michael Amadio. Samuel Ersson started in goal for Ottawa and made 8 saves on 9 shots. Jeremy Swayman started for Boston and made 20 saves on 24 shots. (NHL.com)
Injuries: Sanderson (lower body) is listed as out. Burakovsky (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Monday, per Postmedia. Defenseman Artem Zub (knee) and forwards Kurtis MacDermid (upper body) and Blake Montgomery are on the injured non-roster list (ESPN).
Detroit Red Wings Preview: Still Looking for the First Win
2025-26 recap: Detroit went 41-31-10 (92 points), finished sixth in the Atlantic Division and missed the playoffs. Alex DeBrincat led the team with 85 points (41 goals, 44 assists, 15 power-play goals), Lucas Raymond had 76 points, Larkin scored 34 goals in 74 games and Moritz Seider had 60 points (NHL.com).
Offseason moves: Detroit added forward Viktor Arvidsson, who had 25 goals and 54 points for Boston, forward Keegan Kolesar from Vegas, goalie Daniil Tarasov from Florida and defenseman Andreas Englund. Patrick Kane (57 points) now plays for Chicago, and goalie Cam Talbot for Columbus. Defenseman Simon Edvinsson, a restricted free agent, is listed as out in a contract dispute and has returned to Sweden to train, per Goteborgs-Posten (NHL.com, ESPN).
Key players & coach: DeBrincat, Raymond, Arvidsson, Andrew Copp, Marco Kasper, J.T. Compher, Emmitt Finnie, Michael Rasmussen and Nate Danielson lead the forwards. Seider, Ben Chiarot, Justin Faulk, Albert Johansson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka are on defense. Todd McLellan is in his third season as coach.
Goalies: John Gibson went 29-22-4 with a 2.72 GAA, .901 save percentage and four shutouts in 57 games last season. He has started both games this season, making 19 saves on 20 shots against the Rangers and 24 saves on 27 shots against Winnipeg. Tarasov went 13-15-3 with a 3.05 GAA and .895 save percentage in 33 games for Florida and has not played yet. Detroit had not confirmed a starter at research time.
Season so far: Sean Durzi scored on the power play and Dylan Garand made 22 saves in the Rangers’ 2-0 win at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 2. On Sunday, Cole Perfetti and Kyle Connor (twice) scored on the power play for Winnipeg, and Arvidsson (power play) and Finnie scored for Detroit, which outshot the Jets 35-27 (NHL.com).
Injuries: Larkin (upper body) is on the injured non-roster list. Kasper (upper body) is day to day, defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker (upper body) is on injured reserve, and forwards Carter Bear (upper body) and Chase Stillman are on the injured non-roster list (ESPN).
Key Matchup Notes: Senators vs Red Wings
- Schedule spot: Ottawa is on the second night of a back-to-back after a 4-1 win at Boston on Monday. It is Ottawa’s third straight road game. Detroit had Monday off and plays its third straight home game.
- Last season: Detroit won 5-3 in Ottawa on Jan. 5, 4-3 in overtime at home on Jan. 18 and 2-1 in overtime in Ottawa on Feb. 26. Ottawa won 3-2 in Detroit on March 24 (NHL.com).
- Penalty kill: Detroit has allowed four power-play goals in two games, including three to Winnipeg on Sunday.
- Scoring: Detroit has two goals in two games. Ottawa scored three at Toronto in its opener.
- In goal: Gibson has a .915 save percentage in two starts. Ullmark stopped 27 of 29 shots in Ottawa’s opener.
- Odds snapshot: Detroit -115 / Ottawa -105 on the moneyline, Senators -1.5 (+215) on the puck line, total 5.5 (DraftKings).
How to Watch Ottawa Senators vs Detroit Red Wings
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Puck drop: 7:00 PM ET (7:00 PM local)
Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Mich.
TV: In the U.S., DSN carries the game in the Red Wings’ market (NHL.com), and ESPN also lists ESPN+ streaming. In Canada, TSN5 and RDS2 (French) carry it in the Senators’ region (NHL.com). No U.S. national TV broadcast is listed at research time.
Check the puck line, moneyline and total above against your sportsbook before the October 6, 2026 puck drop, and look for confirmed starting goalies closer to game time.