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First, this just in … a Doni-Brook source says Erik Karlsson will not be playing Saturday night in Winnipeg. The Senators captain and Zack Smith, both of whom are injured, have apparently returned home from the team’s road trip.

Karlsson’s lower body problem was not considered serious, and there had been speculation he’d suit up against the Jets. Likely, the team has just decided to give him a second game off to recover, but who knows for sure.

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Now, back to our regularly scheduled column ….

SLIP SLIDING …

If you didn’t know better, you’d think the Senators have purposely hit the brakes on their rise in the Atlantic Division standings.

Like they were trying to avoid running into the New York Rangers in a first-round meeting or something.

Smart dodge, that.

First, let’s get one thing straight: As bad as (Guy) Boucher’s boys have been the past two weeks (2-4-3), they are not going to miss the playoffs. So there’s no drama or excitement in that “watch” no matter how it’s being dressed up and sold.