The Ottawa Senators’ season is now a week old, and much of the media attention has been on injury issues. But before anyone adopts a woe-is-us stance, this is not a unique NHL situation, even this early in the season.
Case in point: the New Jersey Devils, Ottawa’s opponent at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday night. But let’s get you updated on the Sens’ situation.
Ottawa’s starting goalie, Linus Ullmark, is still dealing with what the club describes as a strain. Ullmark was back skating at practice on Thursday morning, testing things out, but he will not dress for the second straight game. So, after giving up three goals on nine shots on Monday, Anton Forsberg will get the start.
Meanwhile, defenceman Artem Zub (concussion) and Ridly Greig (upper body) will both be out for at least another week or two. Zub’s absence pushes Travis Hamonic into a top-four role and allows Jacob Bernard-Docker to make his season debut in a very inexperienced pairing with former North Dakota teammate Tyler Kleven.
But, again, the Senators don’t have the market cornered on injury issues. The secret is having depth, an NHL team’s rainy-day fund, and teams never go very far without it.
The Devils have started the year at 4-2, even though two of their top defencemen, Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes, have yet to play a game.
Hughes, who finished third in Calder Trophy voting, suffered a shoulder injury during off-season training. He won’t be back until sometime in November.
Pesce, one of their big free-agent signings in the off-season, still hasn’t played after fracturing his fibula in last season’s playoffs. He signed a six-year, $33 million deal to join the Devils and is scheduled to debut with the team any day now.
Even Santeri Hatakka, one of their depth defensemen, had to have shoulder surgery after an injury in a preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Seamus Casey, for one, has stepped up big with three goals and an assist, leading all Devils defencemen in goals and points.
The club’s top scorer overall is, surprisingly, former Senator first-rounder Stefan Noesen. He and Jesper Bratt lead all Devils with six points in six games. Noesen isn’t the only former Sens first-rounder on the squad; Curtis Lazar is in the final year of his three-year deal with the Devils.
Ottawa’s top scorer, Tim Stützle, needed just three games to reach the six-point mark and lead all Senators. He and his linemate, Brady Tkachuk, have combined for 11 points already. Tkachuk, as you’d expect, has nothing but praise for the young German.
Travis Green, the Sens’ new head coach, was very recently the bench boss in New Jersey. He took over on an interim basis in early March when Lindy Ruff was fired.
After the season, Green was still being considered for the Devils’ full-time job, but when the organization began talking to other candidates, they allowed Green to do the same. Green signed in Ottawa on May 7th, and former Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe made a deal with the Devils two weeks later.
The Sens are coming off a bizarre, fun-as-hell 8-7 overtime win over Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. Green, who has plenty of intel on the Devils, was asked about where the Sens can improve on Thursday.
“Well, our puck management is going to have to big against New Jersey,” Green told the media. “If you turn the puck over, they’re going to make you pay for it. They’ve got a lot of high-end offensive players that can move and get up the ice quick,”
The Sens’ practice today was optional, and Thomas Chabot, Nick Jensen, David Perron, Shane Pinto, and Jake Sanderson opted out.
These are the probably lines, based on Wednesday’s practice:
Tkachuk – Stützle – Giroux
Gregor – Norris – Batherson
Perron – Pinto – Amadio
Cousins – Gaudette – MacEwen
Sanderson – Hamonic
Chabot – Jensen
Kleven – Bernard-Docker
Forsberg
Here’s your update on the Devils, who’ve shuffled the deck at forward, moving their left wingers around.
Paul Cotter – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Tomas Tatar – Erik Haula – Stefan NoesenOndrej Palat – Curtis Lazar – Nick Bastian
Brenden Dillon – Dougie HamiltonJonas Siegenthaler – Johnathan KovacevicSeamus Casey – Simon Nemec
Jacob Markstrom
Markstrom will get the start for the Devils. His backup, Jake Allen, became the answer to a trivia question this week, thanks to an early victory over the new kids in town, the Utah Hockey Club. Who’s the only goalie in NHL history to post a win against 33 different NHL clubs?
Face-off is 7 pm at Canadian Tire Centre (RDS2, TSN5).
