An unfortunate injury to Quinn Hughes knocked the reigning Norris Trophy winner out of the U.S. lineup for the 4 Nations Face-Off and opened the door for a younger defenseman to make some Olympic hockey history.

The 27-year-old blueliner was sidelined for seven games in mid-January and now faces the potential of being back on the shelf after just five games back in the Bruins' lineup. For the Americans, Jake Sanderson figures to remain in the lineup with McAvoy on the shelf.

Sanderson’s offensive contribution was a welcome bright spot for the 22-year-old Ottawa Senators defenseman, who was among the last players added to the Team USA roster.

There was no immediate word on if Team USA would bring in an injury replacement. Jake Sanderson skated in McAvoy's place against Sweden.

Sanderson (rest) will be a game-time decision Saturday versus the Canadiens, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports. Sanderson and teammate Brady Tkachuk played for the Americans in Thursday's finale against Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off and will get another four days of rest if they sit out Saturday's tilt against Montreal.

Sanderson scored a goal Thursday in Team USA's 3-2 overtime loss to Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game. Sanderson acquitted himself well in this tournament after slotting in for the last two games.

The United States and Canada are heading to overtime in the 4 Nation Face-Off final. Playing in front of a home crowd at TD Garden in Boston, the U.S. was tied 2-2 with Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson scoring for the Americans.

Sanderson should be back up his usual workload beginning with Wednesday's game versus the Jets -- look for him to see time on the top pairing and first power-play unit as he marches toward what's tracking to be a 50-point campaign for the 22-year-old.

The Ottawa Senators held their annual Skills competition Sunday at the Canadian Tire Centre, which was in support of the Senators Community Foundation and NHLPA Goals and Dreams Fund.

After experiencing an absolutely incredible Four Nations tournament, we are now back to normal, or back to the National Hockey League regular season. In fact, NHL hockey will return today, with 14 games scheduled.

For the past few seasons, the Ottawa Senators have been described as an NHL team with a young core that's still learning how to win. To help with the education, GM Steve Staios brought in former Cup winners last summer like wingers David Perron,