As the Ottawa Senators cling to their season in Game 3 of Round One against the Carolina Hurricanes, the team may have lost its top defenseman for the foreseeable future. In a report from Sportsnet, Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson left the game with an injury.
The morning after Sanderson’s exit, it was revealed that the star defenseman has sustained a concussion per TSN’s Bruce Garrioch. Head coach Travis Green told Garrioch that Sanderson is, “not doing well” and will be out for Game 4.
In a breakdown from Kevin Bieksa on Sportsnet, Sanderson seemed to have been injured from taking a hit to the head from Carolina Hurricane Taylor Hall.
In any case, Sanderson’s absence will be detrimental to the Senators’ chances for Game 4. As Bieksa noted, he is the team’s best defenseman, and his absence puts Ottawa in a nearly inescapable hole. Although they did return Tyler Kleven tonight, the team is already without Artem Zub and Nick Jensen.
Like the rest of the team, Sanderson was quiet in Game 1, but showed up in a big way in Game 2. He recorded an assist on both of Ottawa’s goals and has averaged over 35 minutes thanks to a nearly five-period contest on Monday.
Sanderson’s role as the team’s top defenseman is unquestioned. He led the team in scoring among defensemen, registering 14 goals and 54 points in 67 games with a +16 rating. Additionally, he led the team in ATOI by a significant margin with 24:50. The next was Thomas Chabot, who averaged 22:35 throughout the 2025-26 campaign.
I’ll tell you a guy who needs firing is the Ottawa Coach. I’ve never seen so many dumb mistakes in a Playoff game in my life. he’s horrible.
Ottawa is nowhere near big boy hockey, Travis Green can’t coach at the NHL level.
I suppose you can do better Big mouth grapes
From DJ Smith to Green ???? Grapes could do better, the ORIGINAL Grapes, Don Cherry!
By the regular season standards, that Hall hit deserved a 1-game suspension.
Curtains
Where is Brady in this series? To me, none of this is on the head coach. It’s the top players disappearing and the PP being flat out garbage.
Typical Canadian hockey fans. Ottawa playing one of the few truly elite teams in the NHL. Battling and keeping the game within 1 shot… and yet the fans have NO appreciation for the teams effort top to bottom.
The margin is so small…they are so close….and yes it is all about winning….however fans have no perspective.
The hill is steep and likely insurmountable, but give them credit. These fans are akin to the hysterical beta male, breaking all the dishes at home after the wife/boyfriend makes a bad meal.
And Canada wonders why nobody, even Canadien players, want to play anywhere in the country.
Agreed. Sounds like whiney Leaf fans. Carolina is a tough, frustrating opponent…Senators dee decimated with injuries, and games are still very close.
I told someone today that this is about as close as a 3-0 series could be. And this is coming from a Canes fan.
Canes are obviously the better team but a couple different breaks and it could be 2-1 Sens tbh.
If it could be 2-1 Sens, it would be 2-1 Sens. TBH.
Sanderson may be the most important player in the Sens lineup. Can’t see them winning game 4 without him.