Sanderson Down Again. Ottawa's Blue Line Depth Is Not a Depth Chart.

Jake Sanderson exited against Toronto on Sunday with an apparent injury, one day after I wrote that his return for the opener was the best news Ottawa had heading into the playoffs. That piece aged poorly in under 48 hours.

The timing is what makes this genuinely difficult. The Senators built their opening roster around Sanderson being available — sending Hoyt Stanley to Belleville was partly a statement of confidence in his recovery. Now that confidence is in question again, and the names behind him on the blue line are Thomas Chabot, Tomas Hamara, and Christian Kyrou, three players whose production shares are essentially identical and none of whom profiles as a true number-one. Artem Zub was already expected to miss the start of the season. Ottawa's defensive depth was thin before Sunday; it is thinner now.

The forward situation compounds it. Andre Burakovsky is out for the opener after a cross-check to the back. Blake Montgomery is on Injured Reserve. The left wing position was already a structural hole — Jaxon Cover, the listed starter there, has produced next to nothing this season. William Eklund is the one name on that side with real production, and he's third on the depth chart by playing time. Meanwhile, Ottawa's offense has averaged 2.8 goals per game over the last ten contests, down from 3.6 the prior stretch. Tighter margins, fewer bodies, a three-games-in-four-nights road trip on deck.

The Senators clinched. That is real. But this team has spent the better part of a year held together by the availability of its core players, and Sanderson is the one who matters most to how they defend. His status now is unknown. That is the sentence Ottawa is walking into the playoffs with.