Erik Karlsson to return to Senators' lineup on Tuesday

The Senators confirmed on Twitter this morning that captain Erik Karlsson would make his much anticipated return to the lineup, after missing just five games with a foot injury.

The team performed surprisingly well without their star defenseman, going an impressive 3-0-2 and scoring nineteen goals, including five on the powerplay. Karlsson's return comes after a particularly dominant road trip through Western Canada. While there is no way the team would have been able to maintain that level of play without its captain, it's reassuring to see that there's still a lot of talent in the lineup behind Karlsson.

Karlsson was expected to miss a lot more time after undergoing surgery in June, but being Erik Karlsson, healed like Wolverine and got back on the ice early. Let's all hope he's fully healed and that the foot won't be a problem later on in the season.

This announcement comes just one day after the team reassigned defenseman Thomas Chabot to Belleville.

Karlsson's first game of the season will be played at home against the Vancouver Canucks, at 7:30 EST on Tuesday. You can watch it live on TSN5.