Tkachuk joins Senators skate in non-contact jersey, on track for playoff return
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Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk joined the team for practice for the first time in more than two weeks Monday, sporting a non-contact jersey.
The news comes as another positive step in Tkachuk's recovery from an upper-body injury after he began skating on his own on Friday.
After Monday's skate, head coach Travis Green said Tkachuk will not play Tuesday, but it still expected to be ready for Game 1 of the team's first-round playoff series.
Ottawa's first playoff game is expected to fall on Sunday or Monday, with their final regular season game taking place Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The 6-foot-4 winger leads the team with 29 goals and is third on the team in scoring with 55 points in 71 games.
He said last week he would prefer to play in a game before the regular season ends to get back up to speed.
"I'm in the mental state where [I believe] there's two more months of hockey left," Tkachuk said. "It's going to be a long, grueling, and taxing [time] on the body and mind so I think it's a combination of resting up for that.
"I haven't played since March 30 so [I also] got to make sure I'm ready physically. I know mentally, [I've] been waiting for this moment so I'm not worried about that one bit."