The Senators may be on the verge of getting a major piece back just as Brady Tkachuk is set to return to Ottawa.
Jake Sanderson, who has not played since leaving the club’s season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 3 after the first period, was not expected to dress Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. But the team was looking at next Wednesday’s game against Florida as his likely return date.
On Saturday morning in Philadelphia, head coach Travis Green said the hope was that Sanderson would be ready for the Oct. 21 matchup with the Panthers.
“He’s probably going to play the next game,” Green said. “That’s the hope.”
Sanderson’s month has been a frustrating one on the health front. He missed the first week of training camp because of another unspecified ailment, then came back for the Senators’ final preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens on Sept.
- That outing didn’t go smoothly either: he left midway through the second period with a different injury, returned for the opener, and still couldn’t make it through the full game.
The good news is that Sanderson has been around the group lately. He skated with teammates at the morning skate on Thursday and then joined an optional session on Friday before the trip to Philadelphia. He has also been cleared for contact, and Ottawa is giving him a little more time to finish the recovery process.
The Senators were also set to bring Nikolas Matinpalo back into the lineup against the Flyers after he exited Monday’s road game against the New Jersey Devils when Anthony Mantha slammed him into the boards. That move pushed Cameron Crotty into healthy-scratch territory after Crotty had come off an unspecified illness to play in Thursday’s 2-1 home win over the New York Islanders.
If Sanderson gets the green light against the Panthers, Ottawa will finally have its top defence pairing in place. Artem Zub played Thursday for the first time in six months after recovering from a knee injury suffered in Round 1 of the 2026 playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“I think we had three rookie defencemen (against St. Louis on Tuesday), and you don’t see that a lot in the NHL,” Green said. “We’ve dressed 10 defencemen so far, so it’d be nice to get some of our guys back in the lineup.”
Despite all the lineup shuffling, the Senators took a 6-2-0 record into the Philadelphia game. They’ve also gotten a lift from goaltender Linus Ullmark, who entered Saturday’s start at 6-0-0.
In Other News...
Senators Loss Suddenly Feels Secondary To A Growing Blue Line Concern
The Senators had more than enough reason to lament a 3-1 loss in Philadelphia, where the Flyers snapped a nine-game winless skid, but the result quickly became secondary once Thomas Chabot headed to the dressing room before the third period. Ottawas captain left with an upper-body injury, leaving the team to finish the night without one of its most important blue-line anchors while Linus Ullmarks six-game winning streak came to an end despite another strong outing.
Travis Green confirmed the injury afterward and pointed to the way the game unfolded as part of Ottawas frustration, but the bigger concern for the Senators may be what Chabots absence means in the short term. This group has already had to lean on a rotating cast on defense, and losing a top-four fixture like Chabot only adds another layer of uncertainty to a season where the blue line has rarely been settled. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Face An Early Test As Lineup Questions Keep Building
The Senators are heading into their matchup with Philadelphia carrying more than just the usual early-season questions. Ottawa has had to manage injuries while trying to steady its form, and with the Flyers stuck in a nine-game skid, this feels like the kind of game that can say plenty about where both clubs are right now. Goaltending and a few key contributors will shape the night, but the bigger picture in Ottawa is still about getting the lineup settled and finding the right rhythm.
Jake Sandersons status is one of the details worth watching, especially with the young blue line still in flux. Travis Green is still working through his combinations, and that includes whether Sanderson can drop back in beside Jordan Spence once he is cleared to play. For a team trying to build traction early, those are the sort of decisions that can affect not only one game but the way Ottawa looks over the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Lose Another Key Forward As Early Scoring Pressure Builds
The injury picture around the Senators corner of the Atlantic Division keeps shifting, and Ottawa at least has one encouraging note in defenseman Jake Sanderson. The club expects him back soon after missing every game since the opener, giving a blue line that has had to absorb plenty of early-season stress a chance to stabilize just as the schedule starts to tighten.
The timing matters because Ottawas margin for error is already thin, and the teams around it are dealing with their own lineup issues. Philadelphia is down winger Owen Tippett with an upper-body injury, while the Islanders saw Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli exit their game against Toronto with lower-body injuries. For the Senators, getting Sanderson back into the mix would be a welcome boost, but the exact spot where he re-enters the lineup is still part of the picture worth watching. [Read more 🡒]