Twenty-three days after leaving the Senators’ win over the Seattle Kraken with an upper-body injury, star defenceman Jake Sanderson was back practicing with his teammates, donning a yellow non-contact jersey at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale ahead of a Tuesday game against Florida.
“Obviously, a sight for sore eyes, anytime one of your top guys are out of the lineup and you know you miss him, it’s nice to have him back at practice,” said Travis Green after the practice. “He looked sharp… that’s a good sign that he’s back out there.”
Green said that Sanderson would not play on Tuesday, and that the Sens were monitoring his availability on a day-to-day basis.
“Yeah, it was good, it’s been a while, and I just think skating with the guys and the goalies and being able to move your feet and be good for the guys in practice was fun,” Sanderson told Sens360’s Jackson Starr.
“It’s tough, especially for me, I haven’t missed a ton of time in my career, so I think missing a few weeks can be tough, but we have great staff here in Ottawa, and I’m in great hands here, and guys are keeping me company, so you know, hopefully get back here soon.”
Sanderson had 11 goals and 48 points in 62 games before suffering the injury, putting him on pace for his best statistical season yet while averaging a career-high 24:49 of time on ice. Despite that, the Senators have played to a 7-3-1 record without their best minute muncher on the back end.
“It’s exciting, I think for me, just take it day-by-day and see how it goes,” said Sanderson of how he will ramp up to a return. “But I think just watching the guys the past few weeks, we’re playing some of our best hockey we’ve played all year. I’m itching to get back to them when the time comes, and yeah, just keep cheering them on for now.”
The Sens had an off day on Sunday before the practice. Before that, they’d embarked on a grueling stretch of nine games in 15 days. On Tuesday, they’ll visit the Florida Panthers for the second time this season, where they lost 6-2 on Oct. 11.
“I think it’s been a busy couple two weeks for us, so just to get two days here, get in the sun, relax a little bit, it’s good, and I’m sure we’ll have a nice amount of energy tomorrow,” said Shane Pinto.
“When you’re playing so many games it’s tough to kind of work on the things you want to work on, so, yeah, today I thought I did a good job of that, and having Sandy out there was cool too. We got better, and I hope it translates to tomorrow.
“Obviously one of our best players, and just to see him back, skating with the boys, it’s a good sign, and we can’t wait to have him back, so whenever he’s ready — hopefully it’s soon [laughs] — either way we’re going to keep grinding, but yeah, it was good to see him back.”
