Next stage for Brady Tkachuk is Hockey Night in Canada

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The Ottawa Senators will begin the final stretch to try to make the playoffs for the first time in eight years with the Montreal Canadiens in town on a Hockey Night in Canada at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and defenceman Jake Sanderson may have had their fill of the Maple Leaf after Team USA dropped the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday night, but now the focus needs to turn to the Habs as the National Hockey League returns to its regular-season schedule.

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Neither Tkachuk nor Sanderson were on the ice Friday, but both are expected to join the Senators for Saturday’s morning skate.

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There is no reason to believe both won’t suit up for the Senators. Tkachuk left Monday’s game against Team Sweden after crashing into the net, but didn’t look any worse for wear against Canada.

Centres Shane Pinto and Josh Norris were both on the ice at the Bell Sensplex with former Senators’ winger Shean Donovan before the rest of the group, which means there’s no chance they’ll return.

Coach Travis Green told reporters he didn’t have an update on Pinto or Norris.

Pinto will miss his third straight game with the injury he suffered on Feb. 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. This will be the fifth straight for Norris, who was hurt on Feb. 1 against the Minnesota Wild.

Belleville winger Stephen Halliday wasn’t officially recalled from the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, but he did participate in practice and then headed to Rochester to suit up against the Americans.

The Senators haven’t reacted well without depth in the middle and the only hope now is the duo is ready to face the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday at home.

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The most recent time we saw the Senators, they were skating off the ice after an ugly 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Feb. 8 in Sunrise. It was the club’s third straight defeat and that trend can’t continue.

Sitting in the first wild-card spot in the East, seven teams are within seven points of the Senators. Consistency is a must and victories are paramount in the final 26 games of the campaign.

All 14 teams in action on Saturday will have to shake off the rust and the expectation is goaltender Linus Ullmark will start.

“You take a two-week break and you try to plan it as best as you can,” Green said. “The players try to stay in shape over the break, but the one thing about hockey is skating and, when you’re off your skates, it affects you a little bit and every guy is different.

“Some guys can take a week off and feel great the first day on the ice and some guys take two, three or four days to feel normal again. The fact you haven’t played for a while means you’re not going to be as sharp as you were. You can try to mimic it in practice, but it’s hard to mimic a game.”

It will be interesting to see what headspace Tkachuk and Sanderson are in.

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They’ve come off an emotional high of playing for their country, they get a 24-hour break and then it’s back to work with the Senators.

“Every player is different and every team is in a different spot. In our case, I hope they’d be ready to play some pretty big games,” Green said.

That’s it, the Senators can’t afford to have either Tkachuk or Sanderson drop off down the stretch because the organization needs all hands on deck if it’s going to make the playoffs.

The Senators were happy to see Tkachuk and Sanderson get the opportunity to participate. They understand that both will be upset with the loss, but know they’ll return with the right attitude.

Tkachuk and Sanderson both contributed with goals in the final game. Tkachuk finished with three goals in the tourney and was a force.

“It’s part of the game,” Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot said. “Unfortunately not everybody can win. Those two guys played a hell of a tournament and they both scored big goals (Thursday) night. Canada winning is disappointing for those guys, but I’m sure if they had won, they would have come in with big smiles on their faces.

“That’s the game. You can’t do too much about it right now.”

Green said he reached out to both with a text message.

“There is nothing I was going to say that was going to make them feel better,” Green said. “They knew it but I felt it was important for them to know that we’re proud of them with the way they handled themselves and the way that they played.”

Head athletic therapist Dom Nicolette and head equipment manager John Forget will both be wearing smiles when they return to work on Saturday — they were part of Team Canada’s winning effort.

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