OTTAWA — After weeks of watching their blue line thin out with injuries, the Ottawa Senators got a key piece back as Jake Sanderson returned to the lineup Saturday.
Sanderson missed 13 games with an upper-body injury suffered March 7.
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He was back Saturday when the Senators fell 4-1 to the Minnesota Wild. Sanderson logged a team-leading 24 minutes 55 seconds of ice time.
The 23-year-old Sanderson is a steady presence on the Senators’ blue line.
His return provides stability to a defence corps that was decimated after Sanderson went down with his injury.
He was the first of Ottawa’s top six defencemen to be sidelined.
Nick Jensen and Thomas Chabot followed, with Tyler Kleven the latest addition to the list. Dennis Gilbert and Carter Yakemchuk, both called on to help fill the void, were also injured.
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“It’s been crazy,” Sanderson said. “We’re a little bit cursed right now on the back end, but the guys have been playing awesome.”
Sanderson admitted the Senators have been forced to take a next man-up mentality.
“It doesn’t really matter who’s out of the lineup right now,” he said. “We’ve dealt with injuries all year and our guys have handled it great.”
Sanderson had been eyeing a return for about a week, but wanted to ensure he was able to contribute properly. He travelled with the team to Florida last week, but wasn’t ready.
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“It was just a little bit of a timeline, confidence, just taking the right steps to feel good and not put myself in a bad position.” Sanderson said. “At this time of the year, everybody’s playing with some sort of injuries, so just super, super excited to be back.”
His return comes at a crucial time for the Senators.
With just six games remaining in the regular season, Ottawa was fighting for a playoff spot.
The Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers were all jockeying for the last wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
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The Senators play a second game in as many days Sunday when the Carolina Hurricanes, also on the back half of a back-to-back, come to Ottawa.
Senators head coach Travis Green was defensive when asked if his team played with enough urgency Saturday, considering the stakes.
“That’s easy to say, play with urgency,” Green said. “Our guys are trying. I just don’t think some guys played well enough.
“When you ask if we played with enough urgency, I think it feels like are you asking if we tried hard enough? That’s just easy to say when you lose. Our guys want to win.”
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Ottawa’s power play has been anemic lately going 1-for-13 in its last five games.
Having Sanderson back to anchor the power play should help the cause, but Ottawa also needs Tim Stützle to find his spark.
The centre has two goals in his last 10 games.
After a disappointing effort against the Wild, Senators want to regroup Sunday.
“Just simplify it,” said Shane Pinto. “Try to work a little harder. (Sunday’s) a big game.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2026.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press