Senators finding ways to win without injured Tkachuk 

The Ottawa Senators are finding ways to win while captain Brady Tkachuk continues to work his way back from thumb surgery.

After a sluggish stretch following Tkachuk's injury, Ottawa (8-5-3) takes a five-game point streak (3-0-2) into its home game against the Dallas Stars at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, Victory+). The Senators won 4-2 against the Utah Mammoth on Sunday.

"The first couple of games you could see our guys, they were even a little bit more exuberant to try and make sure we were not going to miss a step," general manager Steve Staios said Monday. "But the strength is in the group and in the team, the way that we play, the way we're coached, the commitment, the character of this group. That's our identity."

Tkachuk sustained his injury in the first period of a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Oct. 13. He had surgery three days later and was expected to be out 6-8 weeks, a timeline Staios said hasn't changed. Tkachuk had three assists in three games.

The Senators lost three of the first four (1-2-1) after Tkachuk's injury. They are 6-1-2 since Oct. 23.

"One thing about Brady, he's been around," coach Travis Green said after the win Sunday. "It's not like he's missing; he's around a lot, he's traveling with the team. But we don't really talk about it.

"As much as we want him in the lineup, we have players who can play. It's just the next-man-up mentality. We're not looking to use excuses. You have to win with injuries in the League."

The Senators ended a seven-season Stanley Cup Playoff drought last season, finishing as the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. They lost in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games.

But they sputtered to start this season, going 2-4-1 in their first seven games. Staios said he was surprised but attributed it partly to two things -- the higher expectations placed on them after the playoff appearance, and pressing to generate offense.

"As much as we talk about our 5-on-5 scoring, as you watched our play through the first four or five games, it seemed like we were eager to try to get on the offense; just a little disconnected that way," Staios said. "All well intended though. Our [defensemen] were moving up the ice and as I watched game flow, it seemed we were moving well but just a little bit disconnected and not playing to our identity."

Others have indeed responded in Tkachuk's absence. Forwards Tim Stutzle (eight goals, eight assists) and Drake Batherson (five goals, 11 assists) lead Ottawa with 16 points each; Shane Pinto is next with 14 points (eight goals, six assists). The power play has been strong too (24.1 percent, eighth in the NHL).

Green said the Senators have done pretty well dealing with adversity.

"It's a hard league; it's not an easy league to win every game," Green said. "Just because you make the playoffs one year doesn't mean you're automatically in the next year. A lot of things have to happen. Your game has to be consistent. You're going to have some ebbs and flows to the season and there are still no guarantees, and I think our group understands that.

"Could we have a few more wins? Probably. Our game hasn't been perfect; no one's game is perfect. When you look at the East, it's going to be a grind. It's going to be a grind the whole way through. We're not worried about the end; we're just worried about the next game, and that's the approach we've kind of taken from Day 1.

Tkachuk will be back as soon as he can. But in the meantime, the Senators are learning how to collect points without him.

"Brady's done all he can to continue to lead, even with his injury, being in and around the group," Staios said. "Credit to the group. We know how much of an impact that he is for us as a team, yet our players took it upon themselves to step up and continue to play well."