The Ottawa Senators won’t have Jake Sanderson for the Battle of Ontario

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The task in the Battle of Ontario just got a little bit tougher.

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The Ottawa Senators looked relaxed and refreshed as they returned to the ice for the first time in eight days at the Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday, but noticeable by his absence was top defenceman Jake Sanderson.

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Sanderson, who left the game the Senators won 4-3 over the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 1, wasn’t on the ice for the 45-minute skate, and interim head coach Jacques Martin told reporters he wouldn’t suit up against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday for Hockey Night in Canada.

“I doubt that he’ll be available this weekend,” Martin said. “It’s a lower-body injury, and hopefully it’s not too serious. He just needs some time to recover.”

Sanderson departed after getting bumped in the corner of the rink by Detroit captain Dylan Larkin. He attempted to return that night, but the decision was made, after consultation with medical staff, to not risk it.

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There is no timetable for Sanderson to resume skating. His spot in the lineup will be taken by Travis Hamonic, who will return after missing five games with a lower-body injury. He took a regular shift in the third defence pairing with Erik Brannstrom during Thursday’s session.

It also appears goaltender Anton Forsberg will dress as the backup to Joonas Korpisalo. Forsberg skated with the Senators for the first time since injuring a groin muscle on Jan. 11 in Buffalo

“It was fun to be back out there for sure,” Forsberg said. “It’s been a boring time being out there by myself and not being on the road, so it was nice to be out there with the team and getting used to atmosphere in the rink.

“It’s just a matter of getting ready to play. There’s no physical challenges. I feel great, and it’s more about getting into the groove again.”

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Forsberg said he resumed skating two weeks ago and has been building towards a return. He wasn’t on the ice during the designated days off for the all-star break, but stayed in town to skate with goalie coach Justin Peters when the blackout days were lifted Monday.

“We got some work in here the last few days, and I appreciated (Peters) staying here to work with me,” Forsberg said.

Placed on long-term injury reserve, Forsberg missed his 10th game when the Senators faced the Red Wings, so he’s now eligible to return.

They also still have Kevin Mandolese, who was recalled from the American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville just before the break, but Forsberg took most of the shots on Thursday.

“I’ve been feeling good for awhile but we knew we had the break coming up so we’ve been working towards this slowly,” he said.

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With Forsberg ready to return, Steve Staios, the Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager, will have to make a roster move to create space for the netminder with a $2.75-million U.S. salary-cap hit.

The Senators currently have $1.2 million in available cap space, and they’ll have more when they send Mandolese ($775,000) back to Belleville.

Judging by the skate Thursday, winger Zack MacEwen could be the odd man out. He skated as the extra forward and took turns with Dominik Kubalik, but that decision won’t be made until the Senators confirm Forsberg is ready to go.

GETTING READY

Thursday’s skate focused on getting Senators players ready for what will be a busy schedule in the final 35 games of the NHL regular season.

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Most Ottawa players went to sunny destinations during the break and appreciated the time away to get rested.

The Senators posted a 6-2-2 record in their last 10 games heading into the break. Going into Thursday’s NHL action, they were 16 points out of the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. Making the playoff isn’t impossible, but they would have to go on a historic run to make it happen.

“Last year from this point on, until the end of the year, we pretty much played our best hockey,” forward Drake Batherson said. “If we can do what we did last year, go on a bit of a run and continue playing the way we were before the break, it will be interesting to see what can happen.

“We’ve got to win a lot of games, but no one has given up here.”

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The opportunity to take a step back was important for everybody.

“I feel like, since we got back from Sweden (in November), we’ve been playing every second day, and to get a break … you can see that everybody in the room was fresh. Everybody was here relatively earlier than normal, so everybody is just excited to be back,” Batherson said.

Martin wanted to make sure the players got their legs back.

“It was a lot of skating with good pace and some good intensity and I thought we had some good spirit,” he said. “We have two days to get ready and I thought it was important to work hard today, then taper it off (Friday).

“The Leafs have had two games since they got back from their break, so we’ve got to make sure that we’re ready to go.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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