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OTTAWA — For a variety of reasons, including a quirky schedule, the Ottawa Senators have lagged behind other teams when it comes to games played and points earned.
So, naturally Ottawa is one of the last teams to get back into action following the All-Star Game break, facing a Toronto Maple Leafs team that has already played twice while the Sens were off this week.
Yes, the Sens are back, but Jake Sanderson is not. Ottawa’s star defenceman suffered a lower-body injury in the last game before the break, Jan. 31 in Detroit, and will not be available when Toronto pays a visit to the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday (Hockey Night in Canada on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT).
“I doubt he’ll be available this weekend,” said interim head coach Jacques Martin. “Just a lower-body injury and hopefully it’s not too serious, but he needs some time to recover.”
Defenceman Travis Hamonic is back and ready to play and will take Sanderson’s place on the roster.
Elsewhere, things are not as symmetric. There is an extra forward, and judging from Thursday’s twilight practice, the extra guy is winger Zack MacEwen.
Anton Forsberg, who hasn’t played since injuring a groin Jan. 11 versus Buffalo, took part in the full practice and has pronounced himself good to go. However, he was on the LTIR list and a move will have to be made to clear room for him and his $2.7-million cap hit to return to the roster.
“It was fun to be back out there, for sure,” Forsberg said. “It’s been kind of a boring time, just being by yourself out there (on the ice) and not being on the road and coming to the games and playing with the guys.”
Forsberg said he feels fine physically, and just has to get back into the rhythm of playing the position.
“It’s more getting used to the speed again,” he said. “I feel great. It’s about getting into the groove again.”
Forsberg has been skating on his own and facing shots for about two weeks. Last week, he picked up the pace of his workload, under the direction of goaltender coach Justin Peters.
Forsberg said he was grateful to Peters for staying in town during the break to work with him.
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Ready for Leafs
While the 10-day break has been an eternity for some diehard fans, winger Drake Batherson said it came at a good time for the players.
“I feel like ever since we got back from Sweden (in November), we’ve been playing almost every second day,” Batherson said. “So to get a break, you can just see it in the room today, the guys are fresh. And everyone was here relatively earlier than a normal day. Everyone’s excited to get back. And we’re playing a team that’s already played a couple of games, so we’ve got to be ready to go.”
It helps that the first game is the provincial archrival. It won’t be hard for Martin to get his players’ attention before Saturday.
“Saturday night, Hockey Night In Canada, against the Leafs,” Batherson said. “You can’t really ask for much more. Anytime we play them it’s a good game, no matter what day of the week. But I think being Hockey Night In Canada against the Leafs in our home rink will make it that much more special.”
Thursday’s skate was decidedly up-tempo, and Martin was impressed with how ready the players were to get back to work after a long break.
“It shows some professionalism and I think it shows an understanding that we only have a couple of days here to get ready for a game situation,” Martin said. “I think it was a good practice, a good workout, and I like the spirit out there as well.”
With 35 games left on the schedule, Batherson sees no reason the Senators can’t replicate last season at this time, when they started playing some of their best hockey down the stretch.
In the end, they missed a playoff spot by six points.
Today, they sit 16 points behind the Red Wings for that second wild-card spot and have three games in hand on Detroit. Looooong-shot at best, people.
“If we can do similar to last year and go on a bit of a run, continue playing the way we were before the break, it will be interesting to see what can happen,” Batherson said. “Obviously, we’ve got to win a lot of games, but no one is giving up here.”
Given that the Senators have games to make up on others in the league, this will be a busy stretch, from now until mid-April. The majority of the games will be on the road as the first half was home-friendly.
“I think we play almost every second day till the end of the year,” Martin said. “So, we’ve got to get used to very little practice. I think recovery is important but we have to keep improving, whether through practice or meetings or commitment off the ice to make sure we’re ready to be at our best.”
Batherson, for one, is ready to get down to business after an extended — and welcome — rest period.
“It’s nice to give the body a break,” Batherson said. “Guys are a little banged-up as the season goes on. You play through little things and you give yourself a full week off — mentally, more than anything — enjoy life with friends and family and go somewhere nice, it’s important. We don’t get a lot of time off during the season, so we took full advantage of that and we’re excited to get back in Ottawa and get going again.”
ODR King
I’m a sucker for stories that illustrate how much certain players love their sport. Think of Jaromir Jagr and his clandestine late-night skates. When Andrew Cassels was ripping up the OHL with the Ottawa 67’s in the late 1980s, he would go to his late-afternoon practice under coach Brian Kilrea, have dinner at his billet home and then often head out to play on a local shinny rink.
So, when Batherson said he was skating on the outdoor ice at McKellar Park in Ottawa’s west end the other day, it was music to my ears. Afterward, he and some friends checked out the Fisher Park ice several blocks farther west. Nice for any youngster looking up to see No. 19 skating alongside him or her down the wing.
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