With four games left in the regular season, there’s still no definite timeline for the return of Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk was injured 11 days ago in a neutral zone collision with Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves and has missed the past five games.
But there’s every reason to believe that he and the club are just being smart and that he’ll be ready for Game One of the Eastern Conference playoffs, set for either April 20th or 21st.
For one, Tkachuk did return for the final period after the collision in Pittsburgh, suggesting that the injury isn’t serious.
Secondly, at Thursday’s media availability, head coach Travis Green may have tipped the club’s hand a little. When TSN’s Claire Hanna asked Green about a timeline for Tkachuk’s injury—making it clear that she had already talked to the Sens captain earlier in the day—Green first wanted to know what Tkachuk had told her.
Greene was having a little fun, but it also hints that the Sens are being strategic and, while doing so, trying to stay on the same page with this.
“You’ll see him when he’s ready to play,” Greene said, finally.
Thirdly, and this is the biggest factor, there’s no way Brady Tkachuk is going to miss a chance to play in the first Stanley Cup playoff series of his career. None. Zip. Nada.
“I don’t think I’d ever miss an opportunity to play in the playoffs,” Tkachuk told the media. “But not looking too far in advance and looking forward to skating tomorrow, feeling good, and going from there.”
That should set minds at ease in Ottawa because that’s all that’s important right now, not these last four games.
Tkachuk missed the past five when the playoffs weren’t a sure thing. Now that they are, there’s certainly no need to rush back for the final four games. Whether the Senators move up, down, or stay where they are in the Eastern standings, they’re going to have an extremely challenging first-round opponent no matter what.
So getting the captain as healthy as possible for the playoffs is far more important than having him play in these next four games. That was the spirit of reporter Brent Wallace’s question—wondering whether Tkachuk’s continued absence is because he doesn’t really have to be in the lineup right now.
“I don’t know that,” Tkachuk said. “Obviously, I want to play. I don’t like watching, and the guys have really helped me out. The last bunch of games put us in the position that we are.”
GM Steve Staios addressed Tkachuk’s status on Wednesday, the morning after the club clinched its first playoff spot in eight years.
“He continues to progress,” Staios told the media. “Now that we’ve clinched a playoff spot, I think every team goes through these discussions like, what is the best situation? Do you rest players? How do you manage that? We haven’t figured that part out yet. But, to me, you always want to keep the team moving along and competing at a high level to roll into the playoffs at the right time.”
The Sens seem poised to reintroduce some serious sandpaper to their lineup, just in time for the playoffs. Not only is Tkachuk almost certainly going to be back by playoff time, but Nick Cousins is now recovered enough from his knee injury back in January to be a full participant at practice on Thursday.
“Yeah, I felt good,” Cousins said. “I mean, I think that’s one of the parts I miss the most, is just being a part of the guys, whether it’s in practice or around the rink. You’re kind of on your own schedule when you’re injured so that part stings. But it’s nice to be back and kind of get into the swing of things and, you know, shake the rust off and get into a full practice.”
The Senators will have a playoff-style matchup with the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night. The Habs, whose fan base often turns the building into Canadien Tire Centre, will be looking to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since losing in the Cup Final in 2021.
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