Brady Tkachuk injury update: Latest on Senators captain's availability against Sharks

Ottawa Senators star Brady Tkachuk will return to the lineup on Saturday when they host the San Jose Sharks at Canadian Tire Centre.

The Senators captain missed the last two games following the 4 Nations Face-Off with a lower-body injury. He appeared to suffer the injury after crashing into the side of the net in the first period of Team USA's 2-1 loss to Team Sweden on Feb. 15. He gutted it out to play in the championship game against Canada, although he was not at full strength.

He was on the ice for Friday's practice and took part in regular line rushes on the top line signaling his return. Ottawa Senators reporter and columnist for the Ottawa Citizen Bruce Garrioch shared the update from the captain on X (formerly Twitter).

"Tkachuk says he will play tomorrow," Garrioch tweeted on Friday.

It's great news for the Senators, who could also see key forwards Josh Norris (upper body) and Shane Pinto (upper body) return to the lineup.

The team went 0-2-0 without Tkachuk and has lost five consecutive games, all in regulation. Ottawa needs to get back on track before it's too late.

The Ottawa Senators need Brady Tkachuk to have a big final 24 games

If the Ottawa Senators want to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17, they will need Brady Tkachuk to step up.

He has been his usual self, physical and productive with 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists) in 56 games this season. However, he went through a rough 10-game pointless drought in January, something a team desperate for offense like the Sens cannot afford. Ottawa ranks 26th in the league in goals for with just 160.

With Tkachuk and potentially Norris and Pinto back in action, Ottawa must start picking up points before it falls far out of the wild-card race. With a 29-25-4 record (62 points), the Senators are four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets (66 points) for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Tkachuk's return to the lineup comes on Saturday when Ottawa hosts the lowly San Jose Sharks. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at Canadian Tire Centre.