Slumping Sens sit outside of playoff picture for first time in a month
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Stuck in a four-game losing skid, the Ottawa Senators enter Wednesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets sitting outside the playoff picture for the first time in a month.
The Columbus Blue Jackets jumped over the Senators for the final wild-card spot with a 6-4 win over the Dallas Stars, pushing Ottawa outside of the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference for the first time since Jan. 25.
The Senators entered the 4 Nations Face-Off break on a three-game losing skid, including two straight losses to the Tampa Bay Lightning and came out of their break with a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Team captain Brady Tkachuk missed Saturday's loss with an injury suffered at the 4 Nations tournament and the Senators will be without him again on Wednesday against the Jets, who have a league-best 41 wins this season.
Tkachuk, who participated in the the team's practice Tuesday but left early in line rushes, was ruled out for Wednesday's game along with Shane Pinto and Josh Norris.
Pinto has been out since Feb. 4 due to an upper-body injury and skated in a non-contact jersey Tuesday. Tkachuk is the Senators leading goal scorer with 21 goals and 44 points in 56 games this season. Pinto has 11 goals and 22 points in 46 games.
Norris has been sidelined since Feb. 1 and head coach Travis Green stated Tuesday he was hopeful the 25-year-old will return from his upper-body injury. Norris has 19 goals and 31 points in 50 games this season.
The Senators recalled Angus Crookshank and Jan Jenik from the AHL's Belleville Senators on Wednesday morning to help the holes in their lineup.
Playoff pressure heating up
The Senators are fighting to end an eight-year playoff drought this season, dating back to the team making the Eastern Conference Final in 2017.
Ottawa rose to as high as third in the Atlantic Division last month, but now sit eight points back of the Lightning for that spot with the Detroit Red Wings - four points ahead of Ottawa with one more game played - between them.
Green believed his team looked "rusty" in Saturday's loss to the Canadiens, while players stressed the importance and of finding wins now as the March 7 trade deadline looms.
“We’ve just got to be better,” leading scorer Tim Stutzle said. “It’s frustrating, but we can’t get too frustrated. We’ve just got to keep playing and be better.
“It’s as easy as that. We’ve just got to be better as a whole group and we’ve got to bear down.”
“The standings are so tight right now, every game matters, every point,” defenceman Jake Sanderson added. “We have to have that next game mentality, winning the day.
“It doesn’t matter what you do, keep going and put your head down.”
While he may not play Wednesday, Tkachuk exuded confidence in what lies ahead for the Senators this season as he works to be fully healthy for the stretch drive.
“The guys in here know that a 50 per cent Brady knows that I don’t want to keep that 50 per cent for the next 25 games,” Tkachuk said. “I realize the importance of these games, and I’m really excited about it because I know what we’re going to do in this room and what we’re going to provide for the city.
“I’ve got nothing but confidence and faith in this group. Maybe it takes an extra day to be 100 per cent and be ready to go and show everybody what we’re made of. To show that (the 4 Nations) tournament wasn’t a fluke for me individually and that I can play like that for 24-plus games.”
Following Wednesday's contest, Ottawa will have just three games remaining before the trade deadline.