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Not all of the Ottawa Senators worked out off the ice on Wednesday.

While the rest of his teammates were in the Canadian Tire Center gym after the club’s 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabers on Tuesday night on the road, defenseman Artem Zub and center Shane Pinto They both went out skating on the street of the Bell Sensplex.

After missing nine games with a concussion he suffered on Oct. 14 against the Los Angeles Kings, Zub is set to return Thursday night with the New York Islanders in town.

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“There’s a chance,” the coach said. Travis Green he said when asked if Zub will face the Isles.

But you may not be alone.

Pinto, the club’s third-line center, has missed six games with an undisclosed ailment, but is back skating and participated in the skate on Monday before the Senators went to Buffalo.

“It’s close,” Green said.

Since not all of the senators were on the ice on Wednesday, we’ll have to wait until after Thursday morning’s skate to see how this all shakes out.

“We will see what tomorrow brings us. They skated today,” Green said.

Getting that duo back would give the Senators a boost, but Zub’s return would be a good start. He plays a key role in the main pairing with Jake Sanderson and helps stabilize the club’s back half.

If Zub plays, we’re not sure who would come out, but he’s a veteran. Travis Hamonic could play again in the third pair with Tyler Kleven. That place has been occupied by Jacob Bernard-Docker in Zub’s absence.

A STRANGE DANCE PARTNER

Captain Brady Tkachuk He did not hesitate to come as a teammate Tim Stutzle defense Tuesday night.

Just six minutes into the first period against the Sabres, Tkachuk dropped the gloves with the Buffalo winger. Jordan Greenway after giving Stutzle a tough body check.

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Greenway willingly participated in the fight, but Tkachuk ended up with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for dropping gloves with his former teammate at Boston University in 2017-18.

There were no hard feelings when the two met after the game.

“The first time I fought with a friend it was pretty strange,” Tkachuk said Wednesday. “We laughed a couple of times afterwards. Who would have thought that would happen? But it will be a good story we will have.

“We were linemates and good friends at school, and we still keep in touch, so I guess it was a different, strange experience.”

Greenway was a willing participant.

“The hit happened right in front of me and I thought, ‘Well, we’ll probably have to go here,’” Tkachuk said. “He was the first one to drop his gloves and I thought, ‘Well, he’s in it too.’ The fight happened and of course we laughed a lot and talked afterwards.

“I was able to catch up with him after the game and everything was fine.”

Tkachuk said he couldn’t let Greenway get away with this.

“I know Greenway very well and he doesn’t shy away from that type of game as much as I do,” Tkachuk said. “If the roles were reversed, I think he would do the same thing. Since it happened right in front of me, that’s something I’ve always preached as a teammate.

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“It doesn’t matter if it’s clean, dirty and if one of our best players takes a big hit, you always feel like he’s being targeted. Because that’s what teams do to try to level the playing field. That, for me, is where I step up and send the message that you’re not going to go after one of our best players and have no answer for it.”

The Senators don’t want Tkachuk to drop the gloves as much as he has in the past because he is one of the best players on the club and they need him on the ice to help them succeed.

“You don’t want guys to make constant runs,” Tkachuk said. “If you do it a couple of times, I think guys around the league know that if you go after the best, you’re going to have to answer the bell.”

THE LAST WORDS

The Senators are 1-5-0 on the road in six games and that has to change for this club to be successful.

They don’t think it will be difficult to change the record as they prepare to host the Isles and then open a two-game road trip against the Boston Bruins on Saturday at TD Garden.

“We’ve had some good away games where we didn’t get the result,” the stand-in captain said. Thomas Chabot. “A game like last night is simply a game that cannot happen. It’s about simplifying things. You don’t have anyone to impress away from home and it’s really about playing a solid game.

“Teams that have won the Stanley Cup embrace tough play and go on the road. “They just do it over and over again.”

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