Ottawa Senators return from long, unplanned vacation with Sunday night skating

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The Ottawa Senators went back to work Sunday night.

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After an early hiatus for the holidays due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the NHL, the Senators went skating on Boxing Day at the Canadian Tire Center, but no one knows when they will adjust again.

The Senators haven’t played since losing a 4-3 overtime decision to the Philadelphia Flyers on the road on Dec. 18. Coach DJ Smith was not on the ice because he is on COVID-19 protocol along with goalkeeper Filip Gustavssson, assistant coach. Davis Payne and three members of the club’s support staff.

Smith and Payne will be out of protocol Tuesday in order to rejoin the team.

Including Monday’s game against the Washington Capitals on the road, the Senators have postponed four straight games. Of the six games the club has to make up for, five are home games that will have to be postponed later in the season.

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If those games against Bruins and Caps are played, the capacity on the court will be limited to 50%, which means there is a ceiling of 9,300 fans. The NHL has asked all 32 teams to give them the dates their buildings will be available through May 1 because there could be multiple schedule changes before all is said and done.

Assistants Jack Capuano and Bob Jones along with goalkeeping coach Zac Bierk watched from the stands.

After not skating for eight days, the senators opted to hold a skills session with developmental coaches Shean Donovan and Jesse Winchester. The club has no idea if the home games against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday at 1 pm will take place, but the Senators are preparing as if they were.

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“Our mindset is to be prepared no matter what happens on Wednesday,” Captain Brady Tkachuk told reporters Sunday night via Zoom. “If it doesn’t happen, you have to keep working every day. It’s out of our control right now. All we can control now is coming to the track every day, having fun and putting in the effort. “

The Senators returned to the track Sunday afternoon to get tested and all had to test negative before hitting the ice. This is the second time the club has been closed for COVID-19 reasons, the club also had a break in early November when 10 players and Capuano were placed in protocol.

“It’s definitely really weird to have a couple of breaks,” Tkachuk said. “Many things are out of our control at the moment. For our team, we just have to appreciate every day on the court and every opportunity we have to play a game.

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“There have been a lot of unknowns this year and there have been some unexpected breakups. Coming back here, everyone went home for Christmas, everyone is happy and everyone is excited to be back, so we want to continue the good vibes we had before the holidays. “

In an attempt to get back to work, the NHL and the NHL Players Association brought back the taxi squad on Sunday. Teams are allowed up to six players and there are no minimum requirements.

Emergency withdrawals can be made for players with salary caps of up to $ 1 million.

Defender Erik Brannstrom, who has been out since Nov. 12 after breaking his hand blocking a shot against the Tampa Bay Lightning, was on the ice to skate. He won’t play before mid-January, but this is a step in the right direction.

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“We are not really sure what is going to happen so we will work as hard as we can to be successful in the games,” Tkachuk said.

As a result of the league-wide shutdown before Christmas, the NHL and the union agreed that players will not head to the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February. The league needs the three-week break set aside to play more than 60 games that have already been postponed as a result of COVID-19 and there will be more.

Tkachuk was a leading candidate to play for Team USA, along with his brother, Matthew, a winger for the Calgary Flames, and they were disappointed to hear the news that the NHLers will not be going.

“It’s definitely a dream of yours,” Tkachuk said. “You want to win the Stanley Cup and you want to win a gold medal for your country. With how this year unfolded, it was going to be difficult to sneak in this year

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“It sucks but hopefully in the future it will be an honor to wear the USA sweater. It definitely sucks, but now is the time to focus on your team day after day and try to win every game.”

It’s hard to look forward four years now, but Tkachuk will be a candidate in 2026.

“I haven’t really talked to people about it, but I think the guys are disappointed that it didn’t happen,” Tkachuk said. “At the beginning of the year, a lot had to happen for that to be accessible to us players.

“A lot of those decisions are out of the players’ control and the focus is on their individual teams.”

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Twitter: @sungarrioch