The Ottawa Senators head into their pre-season finale carrying a lineup puzzle they’d probably rather not be solving this early.
Friday’s 50-minute skate at the Canadian Tire Centre was as much about who was absent as who was present, with injuries and maintenance days trimming down an already shortened training camp ahead of Saturday night’s split-squad games against the Montreal Canadiens.
Jordan Spence was back on the ice after missing two days with an undisclosed ailment, but Jake Sanderson remained out for a sixth straight day. The top defenceman has not played in any of Ottawa’s first three pre-season games, though he did make the trip to Kraft Hockeyville last Monday in Trois-Rivières to sign autographs. Even with that trip and the possibility he could face Montreal in one of the games at the Canadian Tire Centre and the Bell Centre, the situation still sounds uncertain.
Third-line centre Shane Pinto also missed his second consecutive practice, while winger Fabian Zetterlund was held out for a maintenance day.
The blue line remains the biggest concern. Artem Zub is already known to be unavailable for the start of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs after suffering a knee injury in Game 1 of last spring’s playoff series.
He’s skating, but not yet with the group. Kurtis MacDermid and Warren Foegele are still out after being injured in off-season training, with Foegele having taken part in a skate on Tuesday before disappearing from the ice again.
Thomas Chabot missed Ottawa’s first two exhibition games because his wife, Marion, was expected to give birth to the couple’s first child this week. The hope is that he’ll be able to face the Canadiens on Saturday in Ottawa, though that remains to be determined. Minor-league defenceman Jorian Donovan is also sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
That kind of turnover is exactly what the Senators would prefer to avoid after using 13 different blueliners last season. Camp is always about auditions and opportunity, but Ottawa would clearly rather use Saturday to get a real look at something closer to its full group.
Instead, Travis Green and his staff are left trying to sort out a lineup with a lot of moving parts.
“We’re taking everything into consideration. We’re not 100 percent sure what players are going to play tomorrow and if they’re able to play. I’d like to see Sanderson and Chabot get into a game, so there are a lot of factors going into it.”
In Other News...
Senators Suddenly Have A Goalie Depth Question Behind Linus Ullmark
Ottawas goaltending picture changed again this week, and not by accident. After losing Leevi Merilainen on waivers and already bringing in Samuel Ersson to back up Linus Ullmark, the Senators moved to add Jonas Johansson from the Tampa Bay Lightning as a way to shore up a thinning depth chart in net.
Johansson arrives with plenty of NHL experience from the last three seasons as Andrei Vasilevskiys backup, but his career numbers have not always matched the job security of that role. For a Senators team trying to keep its goalie pipeline stable behind Ullmark, the addition helps on quantity, even if it leaves open the bigger question of how the organization wants to sort out the pecking order behind its starter. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Center Buzz Could Create Another Atlantic Headache For Ottawa
The Atlantic Division is already crowded enough for Ottawa, and now another familiar name is starting to surface in the summer chatter. According to Sportsnet insider Frank Seravalli, the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames have shown interest in Montreal Canadiens center Kirby Dach, a player whose size and versatility have made him an intriguing fit for teams looking to add down the middle.
For the Senators, the larger point is less about where Dach lands than what it could mean inside a division that never stays quiet for long. Montreal already declined a second-round pick for him last June, and Dach is entering the final year of his $3.6 million contract, which only adds to the sense that this situation could turn quickly once the offseason market opens up. If the Canadiens decide to move him or let the process play out, Ottawa could be watching another rival gain a piece that changes the balance in the Atlantic. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Reveal A Near-Opening-Night Look With Key Questions Still Lurking
With the preseason winding down, the Senators are getting close to a real opening-night picture, and their split-squad games against the Canadiens should offer one more useful look at how things might line up. Expected lineups for the two games include Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson, giving Ottawa another chance to see its top blue-line pieces together before the games start at 7:00 p.m. EST, with coverage available on the teams YouTube channel and TSN5/RDS.
Shane Pinto is not part of the plan for these matchups after a precautionary injury kept him out of practice, leaving one more lineup wrinkle to monitor as the final preseason tune-up arrives. Chabot is also set to draw into his first preseason game after missing recent action, which makes these last two contests about more than just reps - they are one of the final checkpoints before the Senators have to make some decisions about how the roster is taking shape. [Read more 🡒]