Sens find inspiration on roster

OTTAWA— Shortly after Ottawa’s firstround playoff win over Boston, Senators captain Erik Karlsson revealed he had been playing with two hairline fractures in his left heel.

Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion called it another example, along with Clarke MacArthur’s return and Craig Anderson’s resilience, of the inspiration the Senators are finding in their own locker-room as they prepare to open a second-round series against the New York Rangers.

Karlsson’s performance was earning rave reviews before anyone knew of his injury, but Dorion says it’s the star defenceman’s personal growth that’s even more impressive.

“The ability that he has to play through pain and be as dominant as he has not being 100 per cent says a lot about him,” Dorion said Tuesday, two days before the Senators and Rangers opened their series at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre. MacArthur scored the overtime winner Sunday to end the series capping what has already been an emotional return for the 32-year-old.

He was shut down in January by doctors after suffering four concussions in a span of 18 months and was not expected to return to action this season, if ever. But MacArthur resumed training after a brief hiatus and stunned the hockey world returning to the ice April 4.

While MacArthur scored the winner it was Anderson who kept the Senators in the game with timely saves as his wife Nicholle, who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, surprised her husband by showing up at the game.

“When the person you love the most on earth is going through what they’re going through and his ability to block it out, to focus on his teammates, I don’t know how I can put that into words,” said Dorion.