The Ottawa Senators will open their 2014-15 season in Music City, the Sun has learned.

While a final draft won't be released to the general public until mid-July -- and some minor tinkering could still be done beforehand -- a Western Conference source has confirmed the Senators are slated to begin their schedule with a three-game road trip that commences in Nashville against the Predators Oct. 9, then moves on for games in Tampa versus the Lightning Oct. 11 and Sunrise, Fla. versus the Panthers Oct. 13.

The Senators will then return to Ottawa for four games at Canadian Tire Centre, beginning with their home-opener Oct. 16 against Patrick Roy's Colorado Avalanche.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will make their first of three visits to the nation's capital on Oct. 22. The Senators will also play host to their provincial rivals Jan. 21 and Mar. 21, and take on the Buds at Air Canada Centre Mar. 28 and April 5.

Senators-Habs games will take place in Ottawa Jan. 15 and Feb. 18, and in Montreal Dec. 20 and Mar. 12.

The Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings make their one and only stop in Ottawa on Dec. 11.

While the Senators will not play more than four in a row at home, they do have two, five-game road trips on their 2014-'15 schedule. The first starts with a Nov. 24 tilt in Detroit and includes stops in St. Louis, Florida and Tampa before wrapping up Dec. 2 in Long Island.

The second begins Feb. 25 in Anaheim and goes through Los Angeles, San Jose and Minnesota before ending in Winnipeg Mar. 4.

They also have two, four-game road trips -- one to Western Canada (and Columbus) in November and the other (Philadelphia, Colorado, Phoenix, Dallas) in early January.

With 24 of their first 41 games on the road also comes a luxury, as the Senators play 12 of their final 20 games at Canadian Tire Centre. Of course, that's only a good thing if they can improve on their 18-17-6 home record from last season.

Their last two games of the season are on foreign soil, when they wrap up the campaign with stops at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers April 9 and at Wells Fargo Center against the Philadelphia Flyers April 11.

Twitter: @sundonib

2014-15 Ottawa Senators regular-season schedule (all times Eastern and subject to change)