All eyes remain on the Olympics in Milan, where the men’s hockey tournament shifts into high gear Wednesday with the quarterfinals set to begin. For Ottawa Senators' stars Brady Tkachuk, Jake Sanderson, Tim Stützle and Nikolas Matinpalo, the pursuit of Olympic gold is still very much alive.
But back home in Ottawa, their well-tanned, well-rested Senators teammates are getting back to work.
After scattering during the midseason break, most of them escaping Ottawa’s February chill for a few days in the sun, the Senators returned to the ice Tuesday at Canadian Tire Centre, beginning preparations for the final 25 games of the season.
Ottawa’s last game was on Feb. 5, a 2–1 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. That was the Senators' fifth win in six games, moving them to within six points of the final Wild Card with three teams to jump past.
Except for their Olympians in Milan, the Senators had almost everyone on the ice. David Perron remains out following sports hernia surgery, but head coach Travis Green had some positive news on that front.
Green says the veteran winger has been skating on his own and could be an option for the club’s upcoming western road trip, which begins in Edmonton on March 3. With Perron about to turn 38 in May and in the final year of his contract, it will be interesting to see what the Sens plans are on the March 6 trade deadline.
The Sens are in a stretch of the schedule that sees them play 8 of 9 games on the road. They already have the first three out of the way, winning two. They'll return to action next Thursday (Feb 26) at home against the Detroit Red Wings. Then it's on the road to Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Seattle, and finally, Vancouver.
Senators winger Drake Batherson, probably the best golfer on the team, opted to spend much of his February break back home in Nova Scotia, seeing family, watching the Olympics, and staying sharp by skating with Acadia University's men's hockey team.
Batherson is a player who's also a bigger NHL fan than most and watches a ton of hockey. So naturally, he's been closely monitoring the action in Milan. He says the morning start times work out nicely for him.
"I'm having a few coffees, kicking the feet up and watching some hockey," Batherson said. "So it's been awesome, all the boys have been playing great, so I'm excited for the quarterfinals and see what happens."
As the spotlight continues to shine brightly on Olympic hockey in Milan, the work toward getting back in the playoff race has officially resumed in Ottawa.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News-Ottawa. Read more Senators features and articles from THN Ottawa here:
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