Ottawa’s forward group took another hit, but the Senators still found a way to keep rolling.
Travis Green told reporters this afternoon, including On Air Host and Producer of the team Jackson Starr, that André Burakovsky and Warren Foegele will each be out 3-4 weeks. Ottawa responded by recalling Philip Tomasino and Xavier Bourgault, and the move paid off right away in a 5-1 win over San Jose, with Tomasino collecting an assist.
Burakovsky was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, adding to a month that already included an upper-body issue. The 31-year-old has yet to score in his first eight games with Ottawa, and it’s clear he hasn’t been at full speed.
Now in year 13, he has still never made it through a full regular season without missing time, though over the past two seasons he appeared in all but 11 possible games. Ottawa paid a premium to bring in the 6-foot-3 winger, banking on his size and skill, and has given him every chance to click with second-line and power-play minutes.
Foegele’s setback came after a knee injury last Tuesday. Through 13 games this season, the 30-year-old has one goal and four points, and he had been getting looks on Dylan Cozens’ wing, the kind of role Burakovsky might have filled if healthy. For a player who once scored 24 goals, the injury cuts off a chance to do more offensively after working his way up from the bottom six.
Tomasino now gets another opportunity to show what he can do at the NHL level. At 25, after spending the last few years bouncing around the AHL, he’s still trying to build on his 32-point rookie season with Nashville in 2021-22.
A strong skater and playmaker, he hasn’t had much of a real NHL runway since 2024-25, when he put up 23 points in 50 games with Pittsburgh. Ottawa has been one of the league’s pleasant surprises so far, sitting sixth overall, and the Senators will try to keep that going tomorrow in Anaheim.
Based on the timeline, Burakovsky and Foegele should be back in December.
The Canadiens had their own late lineup change before the puck dropped at the Bell Centre against the Penguins. Kirby Dach was ruled out because of illness, a decision made just before game time. The 25-year-old has managed to play in all 13 of Montreal’s games before tonight, which is no small thing given the serious injury issues he has dealt with in recent years.
Dach has three assists while averaging 10:45 a night, his lowest usage yet in the NHL. That’s a long way from the 50-plus-point pace he showed at age 22 in his first season with the Canadiens, but the bigger picture is still about staying on the ice.
Even if the 2019 third overall pick tops out as a fourth-liner on his expiring one-year deal, there’s plenty of reason to pull for the Alberta native to get through a full season and clear the 70-game mark for the first time in five years. He has also logged time on both the power play and penalty kill, while bringing 6-foot-4 physicality with 18 hits.
Owen Beck moved into his spot on the fourth line alongside Oliver Kapanen, and Dach is expected back Tuesday against the Jets.
In Washington, Rasmus Sandin hit a meaningful checkpoint in his rehab from ACL surgery by practicing in a non-contact jersey, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Sandin went down last spring, and the long recovery was said to be enough to “impact their offseason planning”. The Capitals’ summer activity mostly focused on the forwards, with Vincent Desharnais the only notable addition on defense, but they’ve hardly been short on options without Sandin.
Cole Hutson has emerged as one of the season’s biggest stories, piling up seven points in 12 games and regularly logging more than 20 minutes. When Sandin is ready to return, likely sometime in early December, Washington should have a very crowded blue line to go with its deep forward group.
Hutson is too good to sit, so the top seven would likely include Desharnais and Timothy Liljegren, with waiver pickup Jack St. Ivany and veteran Dylan McIlrath the likely odd men out.
McIlrath could end up back with AHL Hershey, where he has won two Calder Cup titles. The Capitals have won seven of their last 10 and will host the Wild tomorrow afternoon.
In Other News...
Brendan Gallagher Is Suddenly Under Pressure Montreal Fans Never Expected
Brendan Gallaghers start with Vancouver has been a jolt for anyone who expected the veteran winger to settle quickly into a familiar role. The 34-year-old arrived in June and instead has found himself fighting for every shift, with his usage shrinking and his place in the lineup suddenly becoming a topic of debate among fans who are used to seeing him as a dependable presence.
The frustration has spilled into calls for the Canucks to make a bigger move with him, whether that means a trip to the press box or something more drastic. Gallagher, for his part, is not entertaining retirement and says he still wants to prove he can help this team, but the early-season uncertainty around his role has made this a far more uncomfortable story than anyone around the club likely anticipated. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Loom In Dylan Larkin Trade Drama
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For the Canadiens, the intrigue is obvious because a player of Larkins caliber would reshape the conversation around their roster in a hurry. The idea gaining traction is that Montreal could help move the process along if it becomes part of the trade picture, but for now it remains only speculation. The situation is still fluid, and the next step depends on how the market develops from here. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Still Need One Bold Move From Kent Hughes
Kent Hughes has already shown he is willing to keep pushing for a meaningful upgrade, and the latest wrinkle around Montreals search for scoring help says plenty about how aggressive the Canadiens are trying to be. According to reports, the general manager explored a three-team framework with Pittsburgh in an effort to land Kirill Marchenko, with Rickard Rakell part of the broader conversation, a sign that Montreal is still hunting for a forward who can change the look of its top six rather than simply add depth.
The deal never came together, and the reason helps explain why these bigger swings are so hard to finish. Columbus was looking for a more established player, the kind of piece Montreal was not prepared to include, and Toronto ended up getting that type of return in Matthew Knies instead. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has signaled a willingness to move a veteran for draft picks, which keeps Rakell in the mix as a name worth watching if Hughes decides the Canadiens still need one more bold move. [Read more 🡒]