Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk to return against Sharks

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Help is on the way for the Ottawa Senators.

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Captain Brady Tkachuk and centres Josh Norris and Shane Pinto were full participants in the club’s skate on Friday at the Bell Sensplex and appear to be poised to return to the lineup.

Of that group, only Tkachuk confirmed he was in, but, judging by the drills conducted Friday, Norris and Pinto will also suit up as the Senators try to halt a five-game losing streak against the last-place San Jose Sharks on Saturday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.

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“I’m feeling good and I’m ready to go tomorrow. I’m excited to get back with the boys,” said Tkachuk, who missed two games because of a lower-body injury while he was with Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. “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.”

Since nothing comes easy for the Senators, though. Veteran defenceman Nick Jensen left the ice early and on the limp after getting hurt in a 2-on-2 drill late. There was no update on his status Friday, but Jensen had already been playing through an injury.

Defenceman Tyler Kleven also wasn’t on the ice Friday because of what coach Travis Green described as a “strain,” but noted “he’s not out Saturday for sure.”

Sitting outside a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time since Jan. 17, the Senators face a must-win against the National Hockey League’s worst team.

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Norris has missed six games since being hurt on Feb. 1 against the Nashville Predators. Pinto has missed four since he left a contest versus the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 4.

Coupled with the loss of Tkachuk, those absence have tested the Senators’ depth, and they haven’t reacted well, closing out February with a 2-5-0 record and within a win since Feb. 3 in Nashville.

If all three are back, it’s happening in the nick of 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.

“We have to show everybody what we’re made of.”

Tkachuk is right. It’s now or never. The Senators have 24 games left and will need at least 15 wins to get into the playoffs. Going into Friday’s NHL action, they were four points behind the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets for the two wildcard spots in the East.

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Green has done a good job of working with this group about forgetting what has happened in the past because you can’t change it and, instead, trying to keep them laser-focused on the task at hand.

“This is what it’s all about,” Tkachuk said. “I’m excited for this opportunity to show everybody what this group is all about. I know we’re in a little bit of a skid right now. I’m really looking forward to getting on the ice tomorrow and proving all of the doubters wrong.”

Standout rookie Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

This will be the second time the Senators have faced the Sharks this season. It took a third-period winner by Adam Gaudette to pull off a 4-3 victory in San Jose on Nov. 27 after Ottawa had blown a two-goal lead.

A loss on Saturday wouldn’t only be embarrassing, it would be devastating, but that’s why they play the games because the Sharks have as good a chance as anybody to get two points.

“We’re in no position to think that we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Green said. “San Jose is playing some decent hockey. They’re a very fast team. We got lucky in San Jose to win. They’ve had 20 one-goal losses and seven of their last 10 have been one-goal games.

“They’ve got a lot of speed on their team. I’ve got a lot of respect for every team in the league. It’s a tough league to win in and we’re in no position to start taking teams lightly, especially a team like that.”

Does his team have the right attitude?

“We’ve had the right attitude for a long time now,” Green said.

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