As they enter the stretch run of their season, the Ottawa Senators are about to get three very valuable pieces of their team back on the ice.
The Senators expect Josh Norris, Shane Pinto and Brady Tkachuk all to play on Saturday night against the lowly San Jose Sharks at Canadian Tire Centre, as they were all full participants in Friday’s practice.
The Senators captain has not played since Ottawa returned to action following the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament break; he was part of Team USA. Understandably, it’s been difficult for Tkachuk to have to watch his teammates play without him, via The Ottawa Citizen.
“I’m feeling good and I’m ready to go tomorrow. I’m excited to get back with the boys,” said Tkachuk. “It just sucks watching.”
“It’s uncontrollable when you’re in the room and not on the bench. You want to be on the ice. I’m happy that I’m over this. Every day has felt better. I skated (on Thursday), and (Friday) I really pushed. I treated it as a game situation and felt good. That was just the last hurdle to clear.”
The Senators and Sharks are scheduled to drop the puck at 7:00 PM EST.
The Senators have 24 games left in the 2024-25 NHL season
The Senators are four points behind both the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets for the two Wild Card playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. According to Tkachuk, it’s crunch time.
“With us three back, there are no excuses,” Tkachuk said. “I’ve learned that there is a standard that I want to play with and I know everybody in this room to play to the best of their abilities.
“And tomorrow, if we have everybody back, which I guess we will wait and see, we expect everybody will be ready to go right from the start and ready to give it their all. We have to treat every game like it’s Game 7 from this point, so we have to go out and enjoy it.”
The Senators have not qualified for the postseason since advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017.
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