Brady Tkachuk Brings Back-to-Back Hat Tricks to Ottawa as Jake Sanderson Returns and Thomas Chabot Sits

Brady Tkachuk plays his first game in Ottawa as an opponent on Wednesday, and he arrives as one of the hottest scorers in hockey. The Florida Panthers visit the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre at 7:30 p.m. ET, and Tkachuk brings 10 points (six goals, four assists) over his last four games, including natural hat tricks in consecutive wins over Columbus on October 13 and Vancouver on October 15. He was named the NHL's First Star of the Week.

Ottawa's blue line is changing on the same night. Jake Sanderson practiced fully on Monday and coach Travis Green said he expects the defenseman to play Wednesday after missing eight games with a lower-body injury. Captain Thomas Chabot goes the other way: he will miss one to two weeks with an upper-body injury after sitting out the third period of Saturday's 3-1 loss to Philadelphia, and Green said Chabot had been playing through the issue before that game.

A Homecoming Built on a June Trade

Ottawa traded Tkachuk to Florida on June 21 after he requested a move, ending an eight-season run that included five years as captain. The Senators received three first-round picks (two in 2026 and a conditional pick in 2029) plus a 2027 second-rounder. Part of the appeal for Tkachuk was joining his brother: Matthew Tkachuk had assisted on each of Brady's first four goals of the season through the Vancouver game.

The start in Florida was rough. Tkachuk had no points in his first five games as a Panther before the run that followed, and the overtime winner against Vancouver, a wrist shot from the left hash marks at 2:23 of overtime, came after he tied the game with 13 seconds left in regulation. He became the first player since Auston Matthews in February 2024 to record hat tricks in back-to-back games. The Senators plan a tribute video during the first media timeout, and Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he has no special plans for the night, although Tkachuk's line starting the game would surprise no one.

Ottawa's Defense Reshuffles Again

The Senators are 6-3-0 despite a run of injuries that has forced them to use 10 defensemen in nine games. Here is where the key names stand heading into Wednesday.

Sanderson slides into Chabot's spot and is expected to play on the top pair with Zub, the first time those two have played together since the end of last season. Cameron Crotty is the extra defenseman, and Jorian Donovan and Hoyt Stanley have also dressed this season as the depth has been stretched. Sanderson told reporters he came back too early from the injury the first time, which is a reasonable flag for anyone expecting a full workload immediately.

The power play is where Sanderson's return should matter most. Ottawa converted just 5 of 33 power-play chances through its first seven games, and Green blamed basic passing execution. Sanderson was running the top unit before he got hurt on opening night in Toronto, and with Chabot out, there is no competition for that quarterback role.

Fantasy Fallout

Sanderson is a must-start the moment he is activated. Without Chabot, he should see a heavy minutes load, top power-play time and the top-pair matchups, which is the full package for points, shots and blocks. If a leaguemate dropped him during the eight-game absence, he is the priority pickup of the week in any format that counts defensemen.

Chabot managers can move him to an injured slot and wait; a one-to-two-week timeline is not a reason to cut a captain who plays big minutes. For Ottawa's forwards, Sanderson's return is a modest boost to everyone on the first power-play unit, which has been the club's weakest area.

Tkachuk is the obvious start in all formats. The point streak is real production in a top-six role, with Matthew Tkachuk setting up much of it, and his shot and hit volume gives him a floor in banger leagues even if the goals cool. Six goals in four games will not continue at that rate, but nobody should be selling him off the back of a homecoming narrative. Note that Florida plays at Pittsburgh on Thursday, the second half of a back-to-back, which affects which Panthers goalie gets which start.

The Verdexed Angle

Emotional return games are a popular angle, but the hockey matters more than the storyline. Florida comes in with Tkachuk producing and Ottawa gets its best defenseman back on the same night it loses its captain. The net effect on the Senators' blue line is closer to a wash than a boost, since Chabot's minutes move to Sanderson rather than being added to them.

The more useful edge is the Senators' power play. If Sanderson's return fixes even part of that 15 percent conversion rate, Ottawa becomes a far tougher home team than its early special-teams numbers suggest. The desk's lean is that this is a closer game than the Tkachuk headlines imply. For the model's view of Wednesday's matchup, see Verdexed's NHL predictions page.

Player-prop bettors will gravitate toward Tkachuk shots and points. The desk would be careful with any price that bakes in the hat-trick run; the underlying role supports a strong shot total, not a guarantee of another multi-goal night.

What's Next

Wednesday is Sanderson's return and Tkachuk's homecoming. After that, the Panthers move straight to Pittsburgh on Thursday for the second half of the back-to-back, and Ottawa gets a better sense of Chabot's timeline once the first week of his absence is complete.

Watch the Senators' first power-play unit on Wednesday. If Sanderson is back at the point with full minutes, his fantasy value returns to where it was in the preseason immediately. If Green eases him in, a slower ramp is likely, but the role is his either way while Chabot is out.