As the Senators travel to the state of Florida to kick off the start of their 2025-26 season, Drake Batherson is faced with an unfamiliar reality.
He may not physically be ready to return to the lineup.
The Senators' productive right winger has not missed an NHL regular season game since he broke his ankle during the 2021-22 season when goaltender Aaron Dell interfered with him on a dump-in play.
The goaltender played a dump-in, leaving the puck behind for defenceman Mattias Samuelsson before hitting an unsuspecting Batherson, who was trying to get in on the forecheck. Batherson took a spill into the end boards, suffering a high ankle sprain.
Since that injury, Batherson has played all of the Senators' 82 games in each of the last three seasons, making him one of the most dependable players on the team.
Batherson injured himself during the Senators' morning skate on Tuesday, September 23, ahead of the team's second preseason game. At the time of the injury, head coach Travis Green announced that Batherson had suffered an undisclosed upper-body injury. The forward underwent an MRI, which confirmed that there was an issue, but the team was "hopeful" that he would be back within two weeks.
That two-week threshold was yesterday, but Batherson skated with his teammates at practice this morning, where he participated in line rushes skating alongside Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle. His presence there would have been more encouraging had Fabian Zetterlund also not been taking alternating reps between that line and a spot alongside Dylan Cozens and David Perron.
Zetterlund taking reps there fuelled suspicions that Batherson needed more time, so when Batherson left halfway through practice, it felt like a foregone conclusion.
Nevertheless, head coach Travis Green was not ready to dismiss the possibility that Batherson or defenceman Tyler Kleven could play tomorrow in the season opener in Tampa Bay until speaking with trainers following his morning media availability.
"Obviously, both (participated) in practice," Green noted. "Getting closer, see how they progress. I'll talk to the medical staff after I talk to you guys."
Speaking to the assembled media in the dressing room following practice, Batherson sounded less optimistic about his chances of playing.
"We'll just take it day by day going forward," Batherson stated. "I don't think tomorrow's a possibility, but possibly Saturday or the home opener.
"I'm feeling a lot better over the last few days, and it felt nice to get back on the ice with the guys. That's what I missed the most."
With the likelihood of Batherson and Kleven being on the shelf, here is how the Senators' lines looked from this morning's practice:
Tkachuk-Stützle-Zetterlund
Perron-Cozens-Amadio
Greig-Pinto-Giroux
Cousins-Eller-Lycksell
MacDermid
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Jensen
Sebrango-Matinpalo
Kleven-Spence
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