Goaltender Anderson returns for Senators

Friday, 03.28.2014 / 12:58 PM

By Sean Farrell - NHL.com Correspondent / 2013-2014 At the Rink Blog

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OTTAWA -- Ottawa Senators right wing Bobby Ryan had successful surgery in Montreal on Thursday to repair a sports hernia, coach Paul MacLean revealed after practice Friday.

"He should be fine to train any way that he needs to this summer, and that's an important part of getting it done now," MacLean said.

Senators goaltender Craig Anderson will make his first start in eight games against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

Anderson backed up Robin Lehner for Ottawa's past two games against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning after missing the previous five games because of an upper-body injury he sustained March 10.

The injury kept Anderson out of the Senators' 4-3 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators that began a 1-4-3 skid that essentially knocked Ottawa out of the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

To accommodate Anderson, the Senators sent goalie Nathan Lawson to Binghamton of the American Hockey League.

Defenseman Chris Phillips remains out for Ottawa because of an undisclosed injury, the result of a hit into the end boards by Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Malone in the Senators' 4-3 shootout win Monday.

Finnish rookie forward Teuvo Teravainen was among seven Blackhawks who took to the ice at Canadian Tire Centre the morning after Chicago's 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

After failing to clinch a playoff spot in their first game back at TD Garden since winning the Stanley Cup there last spring, the Blackhawks will have another opportunity to punch their playoff ticket.

MacLean certainly isn't taking Chicago lightly and explained why he considered the defending Stanley Cup champions "the best team in the League."

"During the regular season maybe they don't have the title of it, but for me, if you're the Stanley Cup champion you're still the best team in the League," MacLean said.

The Blackhawks have eight games remaining and sit in second place in the Central Division with 99 points, eight points behind the St. Louis Blues and one ahead of the Colorado Avalanche. St. Louis and Colorado each have a game in hand.

Here are the projected lineups for the Blackhawks and Senators:

BLACKHAWKS

Kris Versteeg - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa

Andrew Shaw - Michal Handzus - Patrick Sharp

Brandon Saad - Teuvo Teravainen - Jeremy Morin

Brandon Bollig - Marcus Kruger - Ben Smith

Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook

Johnny Oduya - Niklas Hjalmarsson

Nick Leddy - Sheldon Brookbank

Corey Crawford

Antti Raanta

Scratched: Matt Carey, David Rundblad, Peter Regin