Travis Green On Senators Season-Opening Win And Jake Sanderson's Latest Injury

The Senators had to wait longer than almost everyone else to begin their season, but when they finally got their chance, they didn't let rust or injuries be an excuse. 

The Sens opened the season with an impressive 3-2 road victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, overcoming some rough patches in the second period before putting together the kind of lunch pail, hard working third period Travis Green wants to see from his team.

The win was bittersweet, though, as Jake Sanderson left the game after apparently aggravating the lower-body issue that had already disrupted his training camp and preseason.

Here are the major storylines from Green's media availability.

Green confirmed that Sanderson had aggravated a lower-body injury, although he suggested the defenceman may have prevented something more serious by recognizing the problem and taking himself out of the game.

Green:

"We'll know more in the next few days. But, you know, I think Sandy was smart enough to pull himself early enough that he didn't reaggravate it too badly. He just felt that it was coming and took himself out, and that was a smart thing to do."

Asked what Sanderson aggravated:

"Lower body."

Sanderson's departure put even more responsibility on Thomas Chabot, who was playing his first regular-season game as Senators captain.

Chabot responded with an elite performance, looking as confident as he ever has. He had a goal and an assist and was named the game’s first star.

Green:

"Yeah, he was good, especially for only playing one game in preseason. I thought he was outstanding tonight."

Green also had plenty of praise for Ullmark, who made 27 saves for the win. In the spirit of "you've gotta be good to be lucky," Ullmark had six Leafs shots ring off the iron.

The Sens weren't particularly sharp early and ran into trouble again during the second period when the Leafs quick transition game forced the Senators to spend too much time defending.

Ullmark helped keep the game under control until the boys found their footing.

Green:

"He looked sharp tonight, right from the get-go. You know, I think we knew, our coaching staff knew, we probably weren't going to be as sharp as we wanted to be with our passing, with the pace in our game. I thought the first 10 minutes of the first period we weren't great, and Linus made some big saves to kind of keep us in it there.

"And then we kind of found our legs the second half of the first. Toronto did a real good job quick-upping pucks in the second period and making us defend tired. And then our third was fantastic."

"Toronto hemmed us in our zone a few times. I thought Linus was outstanding, especially when we were defending tired. But just a real good third period on the road."

A lot has changed around the Senators since Green arrived in the spring of 2024. He was asked what stands out about this version of the club.

Green:

"They really want to win badly. That's the one thing, and they're very coachable. They want to be coached, and I think every player has that in a way. I've coached other teams in the past where there's a little pushback, and they (Senators) really embrace the coaching and they want it, and they care about each other, and they want to win badly."

The Sens had the unusual experience of watching the NHL season get underway while waiting several days for its own opener. Green acknowledged that it wasn't ideal.

Green:

"A little frustrating. When you're watching everyone play games, you know, as a player or as a coach, you want to get into the action. You want the season to start. So it's a bit of a long week for us."

If the Senators had to start on the road, Green couldn't think of many better places than Toronto.

Green:

"Well, if you're going to wait a week and you had to pick a spot you want to play, it'd probably be here, if it wasn't at home. Anytime you play the Leafs in this building, there seems to be a little bit more emotion, and it's probably good that we played here."

So the Senators got out of Toronto with the result they wanted and plenty to like about the way they played, especially with how they finished the game.

When William Eklund took a suspect holding minor with just five minutes to play, it felt like a comeback was looming. That's how the script has so often gone in the recent past. But the Sens neatly killed off that penalty and completely smothered the Leafs right to the final siren.

Now the immediate attention turns to games in Boston and Detroit on Monday and Tuesday, and whether Sanderson’s latest setback is back to being a short-term thing or something that might result in an extended absence.

At this point, after being cleared to play in each of the last two Saturdays and not being able to finish either game, we do know that a few days of precautionary rest isn’t doing the trick.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa