Sanderson Back Saturday, Then Immediately Into a Road Gauntlet

Jake Sanderson is expected to play in the opener after the Senators sent rookie Hoyt Stanley to Belleville — a roster move that doubles as a vote of confidence in the defenseman's recovery. He exited the preseason finale against Montreal for precautionary reasons less than a week ago, so the turnaround is quick, but he was back at practice and the organization appears comfortable with where he is.

The timing is what it is, though. Sanderson has been logging 24.5 minutes a night this season, and Ottawa's blue line doesn't have a credible way to absorb his absence — Artem Zub is already out to start the year, and the depth behind those two has been thin enough that I was writing about Ben Hutton on a PTO two weeks ago. Getting Sanderson back matters. The concern is what comes right after: a three-games-in-four-nights road trip, with no game action in his legs before it starts.

Also worth noting: Andre Burakovsky won't be in the lineup Saturday either. A cross-check to the back took him out of the picture just as he was competing for a top-six forward spot. That compounds a left-wing situation that was already a problem — the depth there hasn't produced at any meaningful level this season. Ottawa goes into the opener short a forward and managing a defenseman on a compressed return timeline. That's the situation.