Senators' Tkachuk expects to play Saturday vs. Sharks

Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk told reporters Friday that he expects to return to the lineup Saturday against the San Jose Sharks, according to TSN's Claire Hanna.

"Every day kept getting better," Tkachuk said. "Skated yesterday, felt better. Today, I treated it like a game-like situation and felt good. No issues. That was the last hurdle to clear and now we're ready to go."

Tkachuk has been sidelined since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off. Ottawa dropped both of its games - a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens and a 4-1 setback against the Winnipeg Jets - in the star forward's absence.

The 25-year-old suffered an injury when he crashed into the net during Team USA's round-robin clash with Sweden, though he played in last Thursday's final against Canada.

Senators head coach Travis Green said he was hopeful centers Josh Norris and Shane Pinto would also be able to return against the Sharks, according to TSN 1200. Norris has sat out the last six contests with an injury, while Pinto has missed the last four.

Ottawa will look to rebound from a five-game losing streak Saturday.

"There's a standard I want to play with, and I know everybody in this room wants to play to the best of their abilities," Tkachuk said, according to Hanna. "Tomorrow, if we have everybody back, expect everybody to be ready to go from the start. ... Treat every game like it's a Game 7 at this point of the year."

Tkachuk leads the Senators with 21 goals and ranks third in points with 44 across 56 games this season.