Senators need Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, Josh Norris back for playoff chase: Takeaways

OTTAWA The Ottawa Senators did not have it Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

Their on-ice talent didnt do enough to win.

But the Senators are labouring without three key players: Josh Norris, Shane Pinto and Brady Tkachuk.

Tkachuk wasnt ready to return after giving it his all during the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this week.

Norris and Pinto have been hurt since the beginning of the month and still cant play.

The Senators have lost four consecutive games without the latter two since Feb.

4, including when Pinto lasted under three minutes before leaving due to injury against the Tampa Bay Lightning that night.

Advertisement Ottawa needs them back, as it holds on to a wild-card playoff spot.

We missed all three of those guys tonight, Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson said.

Earlier in the day, the Senators were missing plenty of players at their morning skate.

Not only were Pinto, Norris and Tkachuk absent, but Sanderson and Nick Jensen were also held off the ice.

Having the latter two play Saturday was a sight for sore eyes.

Sanderson had relatively fresh legs compared to some of his fellow compatriots after the 4 Nations Face-Off.

He suited up for only two games, playing against Sweden in its final match of the round robin and the championship final loss against Canada.

Jensen has played four games, including Saturday nights game, since returning from a lower-body injury.

But he doesnt seem to be as effective as he was when he was much healthier earlier in the season.

In any case, the Senators were still forced to play 11 forwards and seven defencemen.

Adam Gaudette got time alongside the top duo of Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux, and Nikolas Matinpalo got time with Thomas Chabot.

The Senators are trying to make up for their injury losses, opening opportunities for players like Zack Ostapchuk, Matthew Highmore and Cole Reinhardt.

But they cant fully make up the losses of the top-billing talents still unavailable to them.

Ostapchuk and Highmore, in particular, suffered at five-on-five with Corsi rates at 17.65 percent and 37.04 percent, respectively, according to Natural Stat Trick.

But the Senators available players dont see those major absences as sufficient excuses.

Theyre obviously great players out of the lineup, Stutzle said.

But it doesnt matter.

We should be able to win those games, and Ive got to be better.

So, when will Norris, Pinto and Tkachuk be back? It could be soon.

But it remains tough to say, as has been the case for most of the season when it comes to the Senators and their injuries.

The Senators wont play again until Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets, which gives them time to heal.

Travis Green hoped Pinto and Norris would be back sooner than expected and didnt divulge whether injury or maintenance was the reason Tkachuk couldnt play but said if he could play, he would.

If the Senators couldve had those three players Saturday, they wouldve fared better.

They wouldve at least quelled some concerns as they chased their postseason ticket.

Stutzle and Sanderson Sanderson and Stutzle were the Senators best players Saturday night.

Both scored in Ottawas first-period comeback.

Sandersons underlying metrics might not seem impressive, but he had good moments at both ends of the ice.

When Sanderson wasnt rushing back to erase scoring chances, he had four shots on goal (as did Stutzle and Drake Batherson).

Stutzle had some of the best advanced stats among his teammates with a 64.71 Corsi rating and a 52.27 expected goals share, according to Natural Stat Trick.

His breakaway goal gave the Senators life after a tough start that saw them allow two goals within the opening five minutes.

Tim Stutzle stays patient and finds twine on the breakaway, tie game! #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/M9Q9hJCpqu Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 23, 2025 But the Canadiens scored three unanswered goals after that.

Patrik Laines backbreaking power-play goal, scored not long after the Sens tied it in the first period, proved to be too much.

I think we got the momentum back with the 2-2 (goal), Stutzle said.

And then they score on the power play after.

I dont know what to say.

Advertisement Bad night for Batherson There was some good from the Senators winger well start there.

He made a great decision on Sandersons first-period goal when he could have weaved a pass in close to Gaudette, who was streaking toward the blue paint.

Perhaps if he caught him in stride, it might have been a different result.

Instead, Batherson was patient enough to brilliantly spot Sanderson at the top of the slot.

He then fired home his sixth goal of the season.

Now, to the bad: He had a team-worst minus-3 on the night and played a role in three goals allowed against his team.

When the Canadiens scored their first, his poor clearing led to Brendan Gallagher opening the scoring.

Batherson tried to limit the space around Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak, helping Matinpalo in the neutral zone.

Instead, Dvorak found Gallagher, who was left wide open in the neutral zone.

It led to a goal from Josh Anderson.

Finally, Batherson couldnt corral a pass from Nick Suzuki in the defensive zone, and Juraj Slafkovsky ended up scoring.

notre attaque a des ailes (et vous aussi) our offense has wings tonight (and so do you guys) #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/NpxXafG1oA Canadiens Montreal (@CanadiensMTL) February 23, 2025 Batherson did not have a good night at the defensive end.

Hes never been worse than minus-3 in a game this season, so it could go down as his worst of the 2024-25 campaign.

The Senators need more from their winger, whom Green pushed to be harder on pucks from as way back as last summer .

Batherson scored a hat trick against the Anaheim Ducks in mid-December, which shouldve been an encouraging sign for his season.

But he has scored only four goals in his next 28 games.

Ullmarks first game back It was a game to forget for the Senators No.

1 goalie, his first game back since his time with Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

His teams mistakes didnt help.

But allowing five goals on 15 shots did him in.

Including on that fifth and final goal, when Slafkovskys shot trickled past the Swedish netminder.

Advertisement Ullmark is winless in his first three appearances since returning from a back injury.

He fared decently well in his first two games with .919 and .915 save percentages.

Despite making some key saves, Ullmark had a .667 save percentage against the Canadiens on Saturday night.

He didnt keep his team in it.

GO DEEPER Linus Ullmark's health under the microscope in Senators' playoff chase All statistics from Natural Stat Trick and NHL.com.

(Photo of Travis Hamonic and Arber Xhekaj: Chris Tanouye / Freestyle Photography / Getty Images).

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