Jake Sanderson injury overshadows Ottawa Senators’ final preseason series split against Habs

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SENATORS 4, HABS 3 in Ottawa

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HABS 4, SENATORS 2 in Montreal

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The auditions are over for the Ottawa Senators, and they couldn’t end soon enough.

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The Senators closed out the National Hockey League exhibition season with 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at the Canadian Tire Centre and a 4-2 loss to the Habs in Montreal, but there was cause for concern when the final buzzer sounded in Ottawa.

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Defenceman Jake Sanderson, who was only suiting up for his first preseason game because he’d been nursing an undisclosed ailment, left the game midway through the second period. That was not a good sign.

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Sanderson had an assist on Drake Batherson’s goal at 10:51 of the second period on a 5-on-3 power play, but then immediately went to the dressing room. The Senators called it a departure “for precautionary reasons” and coach Travis Green said Sanderson will be ready for opening night in the regular season against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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“He’s fine,” said Green. “Precautionary.”

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His status will play a role in the final roster decisions made in the next 24 hours.

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William Eklund scored the winner for Ottawa with the man advantage in the third period, and that was the club’s fourth power-play goal of the night. Winger Andre Burakovsky also left the game in the third in Ottawa after taking a hard hit.

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Steve Staios, the Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager, along with head coach Travis Green and the rest of the staff, much determine what players will start the season on the 23-man NHL roster, which must be finalized by 5 p.m. ET on Monday.

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Though the camp had already been split into two groups before these two games, there will be a significant number of players assigned to the American Hockey League affiliate at Belleville on Sunday.

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The Senators sent what was mostly an AHL lineup to Montreal, while the home crowd got to see most of the regular roster. None of the preseason games this fall were particularly entertaining, but the one in Ottawa on Saturday had better jam than any we’ve seen previously.

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Defenceman Thomas Chabot, who was back in the lineup after being with his wife, Marion, for the birth of their first child _ a healthy daughter _  also played in his first preseason game.

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“To start building a family is bigger than anything in life,” said Chabot. “Everybody gives me all the flowers for playing with a broken arm. But that was 20 times, if not 100 times harder, and I know she killed it. She’s a warrior… both are healthy and that’s all that matters.”

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What’s left to decide

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Likely more than people expected heading into camp.

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Ottawa has been hampered by injuries throughout the past 10 days. The expectation is that defenceman Artem Zub and forwards Warren Foegele and Kurtis MacDermid will start the season on injured reserve.