It’s a wait-and-see approach for Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk

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Will the Ottawa Senators have their captain back aboard the ship on Thursday night?

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We’ll have to wait and see.

The Senators weren’t on the ice Wednesday, so we’ll have to wait until the club’s morning skate to see if Brady Tkachuk will be ready to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Tkachuk missed Ottawa’s 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night because he was sidelined with an upper-body injury he suffered on a hit from Ryan Graves in the club’s 1-0 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

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The Senators didn’t look very good without Tkachuk because he has such a big presence when he does play. It’s the third game he’s missed this season and it’s no surprise the club is 0-3-0 without him.

“He’s a huge part of the team, he’s the captain and he’s a great player,” top centre Tim Stutzle said following an off-ice workout. “We miss him out there, but I think we have a good enough team to win without him. But, with him, it’s a big boost.”

Tkachuk is listed as day-to-day, but he’s also been dealing with a hip injury he aggravated on March 22 against the New Jersey Devils. He missed two games after the 4 Nations Face-Off with a lower-body injury he suffered while playing for Team USA at the tourney.

But if Tkachuk can’t play, the Senators need to be a lot better than they were against the Sabres. Not only did the win allow Buffalo to sweep the season series 4-0-0, but the Sabres also outscored the Senators 16-5, and that’s embarrassing for a team trying to make the playoffs.

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“He’s a special player, he leads the way for us, so whenever a guy like that (is out), you’ve got to try your best to fill that void,” said winger Drake Batherson. “There aren’t many like him in the league, if there’s even another player like him. He’s huge when he’s in our lineup, and hopefully he’ll be back soon.”

The Senators can’t change the way they play just because Tkachuk isn’t on the ice with them.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s your captain, if it’s your fourth-liner, we’re all important,” said goaltender Linus Ullmark, who allowed four goals on 21 shots against the Sabres. “We all have to dig deep and do what’s right.

“When someone is out of the lineup, there is a spot to fill, so it’s up to that person to do their best in that situation, and trying to implement their strengths to help us be successful. But it also means we have to do the right things on his behalf.”

Ullmark added that the players know Tkachuk wants to play.

“We all know that it doesn’t matter if it’s Brady or whoever it is that’s out of the lineup, they just want to be with the team,” Ullmark added. “The preparations and the things we have to do don’t change just because they’re out.

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“We know he wants to be in the lineup, we can see that and sense it, and have the conversation about it. He’s doing a good job off the (ice) of being present even if he’s not physically in the game.”

Fans tend to ride a roller-coaster of emotions, and on Wednesday morning there was genuine concern in the marketplace about how dreadful the Senators looked at times against the Sabres. Buffalo goalie James Reimer was good, but he didn’t have to be great.

That’s because the Senators attempted 92 shots, but only registered 35 on Reimer. The club has to be much sharper against the Bolts because the schedule ahead doesn’t get any easier.

“We’ve got to find a way to be better,” Stutzle said. “We’ve just got to stay confident as a group. I don’t think we played our worst game (Tuesday) night, and we could have gotten a win.”

The Senators are sitting in the first wildcard spot in the East, five points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens, with eight games left on the schedule. The club’s chances of making the playoffs remain at 99 per cent, and there is no reason to believe that they won’t.

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To miss at this point, the Senators would have to collapse, and that won’t happen because Green has this group playing the right way most nights.

A lot of the players have never been in this position before, and you can understand if they’re a little bit anxious.

“The standings are so tight you want to clinch your spot as soon as you can,” Batherson said. “We want to win as many games as we can. It’s a big opponent (Thursday), and a few others are coming into town, so it’s going to be exciting games and we’re looking forward to that.”

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