Ottawa’s night took a sharp turn when Jake Sanderson left the Senators’ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and did not come back.
Sanderson had been a question mark before puck drop, with concern on the Senators’ side that he might not even be able to dress. He ended up in the lineup after all, which had been viewed as a problem for Toronto. But midway through the game, the situation changed fast.
Bruce Garrioch of TSN reported that Sanderson was not on the bench to begin the second period, and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet later confirmed that he would not return to the game.
It is not yet known whether the issue is connected to the injury Sanderson was already dealing with before Saturday night. Either way, Ottawa is dealing with a major loss.
The timing made it worse. After Sanderson exited, the Maple Leafs struck twice in a row to move in front 2-1. Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko scored those goals, giving Toronto’s top line a much-needed boost after it had struggled in the first two games.
Now the Senators are left trying to cover the 25 minutes Sanderson usually plays each night, and that is a difficult ask. He is the defender who anchors Ottawa’s blue line, and he is the kind of player the Leafs have to account for every time these teams meet.
For Ottawa, the rest of the night suddenly became about weathering the blow and finding a way to keep pace without one of its most important players.
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