Senators get Jake Sanderson back, but lose Thomas Chabot to injury

The Ottawa Senators will take one of their top defencemen off the shelf on Wednesday, only to put another one on it.

There was good news on Monday when Jake Sanderson confirmed to reporters that he’ll return to the lineup against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.

But Sanderson will take captain Thomas Chabot’s spot in the lineup because Chabot will miss one to two weeks with an undisclosed upper-body injury that forced him to leave the club’s 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.

Coach Travis Green said it was an injury that Chabot had been dealing with going into the game against the Flyers, and the club feels he needs to get the necessary rest to return to 100 per cent.

The return of Sanderson will soften the blow of Chabot’s departure.

Sanderson, who was sidelined with an undisclosed lower-body injury, was a full participant in the club’s skate at the Bell Sensplex on Monday, and he’ll play for the first time since the club’s season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 3.

He admitted Monday that he was bothered by the injury at the start of camp and then aggravated it in the club’s final exhibition game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Sanderson left that game against the Habs midway through the second period, then returned for the regular-season opener. He felt he was ready to face the Leafs a week later, but in hindsight, that wasn’t the right decision.

“It was a long few weeks for me,” Sanderson said. “Frustrating for sure. I’m just excited to play on Wednesday.

“I might have come back a little too early the first time. That’s on me. I think the excitement of the first game of the season and wanting to start, probably wasn’t a smart decision. That’s on me; you live and you learn from your mistakes.”

The night Sanderson was injured in Toronto, the television cameras showed him slamming his stick on the bench in frustration.

“Just frustrated. Frustrated at myself, though,” said Sanderson. “But mad too. It happened so early in the game, and you just want to play again. Summer is long, and you put so much work into the summer to be ready to start the season.

“And I think for myself, I do that, but it just didn’t work out. But, that’s in the past. Again, I had a great day today with the guys, so I’m all smiles right now. Excited for Wednesday.”

It will be the first time the club has had its top pairing of Artem Zub and Sanderson since the end of last season. Zub only returned on Thursday after spending six months recovering from a knee injury he suffered against the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 1 of the playoffs.

The Senators have had their share of challenges with the blue line this season. The club has already used 10 defencemen in the nine games it has played this season.

Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, noted on Monday that he’d never seen anything like this in his career as a player or as a member of a front office.

The club’s depth has been put to the test and has passed with flying colours. Cameron Crotty is skating as the extra right now, but the club has also used Belleville’s Jorian Donovan and Hoyt Stanley this season.

“It says a lot about our depth. Guys come in and step in and play, and that says a lot about our players but also the coaches,” Staios said. “To be able to build an identity, coach these players into understanding what we need.

“We’re hoping we get it all out of the way early. We seem to be on a bit of a run of bad luck in that regard. But no one’s going to feel sorry for us. And I think with the character of our group as well, it’s the next man up mentality.”