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...
Senators Hot Start Is Fueling One Big Debate In Ottawa
Ottawas strong October has given the Senators something they have not had in a while: a real early-season cushion and a legitimate place near the top of the Atlantic Division. Finishing the month at 9-5-1, the club has stayed in the mix despite a profile that is still a little uneven, with the offense sitting in the middle of the pack and the defense doing enough to keep games manageable. Drake Batherson, Tim Sttzle and Linus Ullmark have all played major roles in getting the Senators this far.
The bigger debate in Ottawa now is whether this start says more about where the team is headed or about how much room there still is to grow. The underlying numbers suggest there is another gear available, especially if the special teams can support the rest of the roster instead of putting extra pressure on it. For now, the Senators have banked points and created momentum, but the next stretch will show whether this is the beginning of something sturdier or just a fast first month. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Depth Takes Another Hit At The Worst Possible Time
The Senators depth chart has taken another hit coming out of the West Coast trip, with Warren Foegele and Andre Burakovsky both going down in separate games and leaving Ottawa to reshuffle again. Head coach Travis Green confirmed the injuries are lower-body issues, and both players were hurt in recent matchups, Foegele against the Vegas Golden Knights and Burakovsky against the Los Angeles Kings.
For a team already trying to keep its forward group intact, the timing is especially rough because the absences stretch into the coming weeks rather than a quick reset. Ottawa will turn to Philip Tomasino and Xavier Bourgault to fill the openings, giving the Senators a chance to test more of their depth while waiting for two more pieces of the lineup to work their way back. [Read more 🡒]
Senators May Have Finally Found A Top-Six Fit For Sttzle
With injuries forcing Travis Green to keep reshuffling his top six, Ottawa may have stumbled onto a combination that gives Tim Sttzle a little more support on the wing. Dylan Cozens has been moved into that spot alongside Sttzle and Fabian Zetterlund, and the early returns were encouraging enough to make the setup worth another look. Cozens brought a different look to the line, and the group helped drive offense in a way the Senators have been searching for as they try to settle their forward mix.
Zetterlund, in particular, stands to benefit if this trio sticks together for a while. Ottawa has been looking for more consistency from its scoring groups, and Green has every reason to keep leaning on a line that showed immediate chemistry and produced a goal right away. The bigger question now is whether this is just a useful short-term fix or the kind of top-six fit that can actually hold up once the lineup gets healthier. [Read more 🡒]