Brassard to be in opening night lineup for Senators

OTTAWA --Center Derick Brassard will be in the lineup for the Ottawa Senators against the Washington Capitals for their regular-season opener at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.
"Brassard is going. It's a go, 100 percent. He got the OK from everybody," coach Guy Boucher said Wednesday after Brassard practiced on a line with Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone.

Brassard, who had surgery on June 6 to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, said he's ready.
"I'd say there's a really good chance I'm going to play," Brassard said of his chances of playing in the opener before Boucher confirmed he'd be in the lineup. "I give them feedback every day, and I feel great. I have no pain anywhere, no restriction. I feel 100 percent."

Brassard had 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) in 81 games in his first season with Ottawa after being acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers on July 18, 2016.
However, Boucher said there's no date set for the return of captain Erik Karlsson. The two-time Norris Trophy winner had surgery on June 14 to repair torn tendons in his left foot. He wore a no-contact jersey at practice Wednesday.
"I know it's getting better every day," Boucher said. "That's all I know."
Boucher said center Logan Brown, Ottawa's first-round selection (No. 11) in the 2016 NHL Draft, will make his NHL debut against Washington. Alex Formenton, selected in the second round (No. 47) in the 2017 draft, will be scratched. Goaltender Craig Anderson, who signed a two-year contract extension on Sept. 29, will start.