New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators 12 October 2026 Prediction

Ottawa heads to New Jersey after a strong stretch at home. The Devils have had an uneven start to the regular season but have picked up four points. They now face a Senators team that has lost only once so far.

New Jersey's Defensive Concerns

Two wins in four games is a reasonable start, though both came against Philadelphia (3-2 in overtime) and Vancouver (4-1). Sheldon Keefe's team benefited from Vancouver's lack of discipline in the latter game: the Canucks took four penalties, and the Devils scored three power-play goals. New Jersey also conceded first, as it has in every game this season.

The Devils need to improve defensively. They allowed six goals against the Islanders in a 6-0 loss, despite New York generating 3.7 expected goals. Utah scored five in a 5-3 win over New Jersey, with goaltender Jake Allen stopping just 83.9% of the shots he faced.

New Jersey Devils Predicted Lineup: Allen (Daws) — L. Hughes, Pesce — Mantha, J. Hughes, Bratt

Rest of the Roster: Defensemen — Siegenthaler, Hamilton, Dillon, Chisholm; forwards — Meier, Hischier, Evangelista, Gritsyuk, Rodrigues, Mercer, Lombardi, Glass, Boqvist

Out: Casey, Bjugstad, Brown (all injured)

Manager: Sheldon Keefe

Ottawa's Strong Start and Injury Concerns

Ottawa has lost just once in five games under Travis Green, falling 5-3 to Detroit. Even in that loss, the Senators converted 12% of their shots and scored on the power play. They came close to another defeat against Nashville but rallied from 2-0 down and won 3-2 in a shootout.

Despite their position in the standings, the Senators have an injury concern. Forward William Eklund, brought in to replace the departed Brady Tkachuk, is expected to be unavailable until late in the regular season.

Ottawa Senators Predicted Lineup: Ullmark (Ersson) — Chabot, Spence — Burakovsky, Stützle, Batherson

Rest of the Roster: Defensemen — Kleven, Yakemchuk, Matinpalo, Stanley; forwards — Amadio, Pinto, Giroux, Greig, Cozens, Zetterlund, Foegele, Halliday, Cousins

Out: MacDermid, Zub, Eklund (all injured); Crotty, Sanderson (both questionable)

Manager: Travis Green

Ottawa Seeks a Win After April's Loss

New Jersey won the teams' April meeting 4-3 in overtime. The Devils scored twice in the first period but trailed 3-2 after two. Dawson Mercer tied the game with a shorthanded goal eight minutes before the end of regulation. Ottawa then took a penalty in overtime, and New Jersey scored on the power play.

Key Stats

New Jersey generates 3.7 expected goals per game, third-most in the NHL.

Ottawa takes an average of 5.6 penalties per game, the most in the league.

The Devils have scored on about 6.1% of their shots. Only two teams have a lower shooting percentage.

New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators Prediction: New Jersey Devils to Win at 2.20

Main prediction: Home ice favors New Jersey. Including preseason games, the Devils have won four of their last five at home and allowed more than two goals only once in that span. Ottawa is also without Eklund, reducing its attacking options. New Jersey has won two of the teams' last three meetings. The pick is New Jersey to win at 2.20. Predicted score: 3-2.

Goals prediction: Ottawa's games have averaged five total goals. Five of the teams' last seven meetings finished with fewer than six goals, while each of the Senators' last two games had no more than four goals in regulation. The pick is under 5.5 total goals at 2.07.