Sanderson's Marathon Shift in Senators' Playoff Fight

0:00It's April 23rd. Welcome in. This is NHL News Today, where Team Coverage meets AI. In game 2 of their Eastern Conference first round series, Ottawa Senators The Fenceman Jake Sanderson logged the game high 43 minutes and 6. Seconds of Ice Time during a 3-2 double overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The 23-year-old has been the backbone of Ottawa's Blue Line, averaging a career-best 24 minutes and 50 seconds per game in the regular season. Which topped his team and ranked 9th league wide. With the Senators trailing 0-2 in the best of 7 series, Sanderson's workload is only wrapping up heading into game 3, Thursday at 7. 30 p.m. Eastern Time back at home. Injuries have then the defense top pair guy, Artem's of his questionable, with an undisclosed issue from game 1, and Tyler Clevveen's jaw injury has. Kept him out since early April, though he skated lightly this week. Coaches and teammates can't get enough of Sanderson's reliability.

1:00Head coach Travis Green admits it's tough pulling him off because he stays effective even deep into shifts, while former Senators Gray Chris, Phillips, who munched minutes himself in the 2000s, calls him the go-to guy for any situation, defense, offense, power play or penalty kill. Back up goalie James Rimer, who's seen plenty of elite defenders over 16 NHL seasons, raises Sanderson's sky-high hockey IQ and compete level. Folks like Phillips compare him to legends such as Duncan Keith, Drew Dowdy, and Zedyn O'Kara, who thrived on half-game minutes in deep playoff runs. Thanks to smart skating and energy management, as Ottawa Fies to avoid the brink, only 4 teams and 213 tries have ever come back from 0-3 Sanderson and partner Thomas. Shabot, who played nearly 41 minutes in game 2, are primed to carry the load and keep the series alive.