Carter Yakemchuk's winner lifts Senators over Flyers, but Eklund injury casts shadow

Ottawa Senators forward William Eklund goes down after getting hit by a Philadelphia Flyers player during the first period of an NHL game at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Oct. 8, 2026. Eklund was helped off the ice. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Article content

The Ottawa Senators’ home opener wasn’t a masterpiece, but Carter Yakemchuk ended the night in style.

Article content

The Senators’ rookie defenceman sent the sellout crowd of 17,501 at the Canadian Tire Centre faithful into a frenzy by firing home the third-period winner in a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

Article content

Article content

The 21-year-old Yakemchuk helped the club’s struggling power play at just the right time by beating Flyers goaltender Joseph Woll with a blast from the point with 6:59 left in the third period to secure the club’s third win in four games to start the season.

Article content

Article content

This was a tough night in a lot of ways for the Senators. They weren’t at their best, and the lineup took another huge hit.

Article content

Article content

The Senators finished the game with only 11 forwards. Winger William Eklund, the club’s biggest off-season acquisition, left in the first period with a leg or ankle injury and didn’t return.

Article content

For the second straight game, the Senators didn’t have any consistency in their game. Woll wasn’t tested nearly enough, but the Senators found a way to win, and that’s all that matters.

Article content

Senators have an ugly 40 minutes

Article content

The Senators went eight minutes without a shot in the second period and generated little pressure on the Flyers. Ottawa was fortunate that goaltender Linus Ullmark was at the top of his game.

Article content

Ottawa paid the price for letting the Flyers hang around. While Ullmark had been solid, Matvei Michkov tied the game 1-1 at 7:46 of the second period when a puck slipped through Ullmark.

Article content

Referee Chris Rooney initially blew the play dead with a quick whistle, but after a review, the goal stood. The Senators had nobody to blame but themselves because they allowed the Flyers to stay in the game.

Article content

Article content

The Senators had four consecutive power plays in the first period, but led only 1-0 after 20 minutes and were outshot 11-8.

Article content

Ottawa struggled to generate much with the man advantage, including getting shots through traffic. The club is 2-for-17 on the power play this season, and that needs to improve.

Article content

Nick Cousins’ first goal of the season came just as Ottawa’s first power play expired. He redirected a point shot by Tyler Kleven at 10:14 to open the scoring.

Article content

Cause for concern

Article content

The Senators took another hit with the loss of Eklund in the first period.

Article content

He appeared to catch his left leg or ankle in a rut while racing for a puck in the corner of Philadelphia’s zone before being hit by Simon Benoit.

Article content

Eklund writhed in pain and had to be helped off the ice without putting any weight on his left leg.

Article content

Losing Eklund is a significant blow.

Article content

“You never want to see a teammate go down like that. He’s been playing great for us,” Cousins told TSN during the first intermission. “It’s super sad to see. Guys are going to have to step up collectively to fill his shoes.”

Article content

The club is already without top defencemen Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub. Rookie blueliner Hoyt Stanley was recalled Thursday morning and made his NHL debut.