The Senators had no shortage of injuries on their blue line last season.
At one point, it forced them to bring up two rookies on the same night. Carter Yakemchuk and Jorian Donovan both jumped in a car and drove all night to make their NHL debuts in an important game in Detroit back in March.
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The injury bug didn’t let up in the postseason either as both Artem Zub and Jake Sanderson were knocked out of their first-round loss to Carolina
Dylan Cozen was asked about linemate William Eklund and the team’s performance in their preseason opener (Senators YouTube).
As they prepare for their second night of preseason action, Sanderson and Zub are both unavailable again.
The circumstances are different. Sanderson missed the end of the first-round playoff series against Carolina with a concussion, but head coach Travis Green described the current issue keeping him out of Wednesday’s games as minor.
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Zub’s injury is a much bigger deal.
He’s still recovering from the injury he suffered in Game 1 against the Hurricanes, and Green said he now does not expect the defenceman to be ready for the start of the regular season.
To make matters worse, Jordan Spence and Jorian Donovan are also unavailable Wednesday, so the Sens need all hands on deck for their split-squad games against Toronto.
The Senators opened their preseason Monday with a 3–2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. On Wednesday, they’ll divide the roster between Canadian Tire Centre and Scotiabank Arena, with both games against the Maple Leafs starting at 7 p.m.
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In Ottawa, William Eklund, Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund remained together at the morning skate. Stephen Halliday centred Claude Giroux and Nick Cousins, while Ridly Greig skated between Sammy Blais and Tyler Boucher. Blake Montgomery, Ryan Suzuki and Xavier Bourgault made up the fourth line.
Thomas Chabot was paired with Hoyt Stanley on defence, with Ben Hutton alongside Cameron Crotty and Tomas Hamara alongside Djibril Touré.
Linus Ullmark and Samuel Ersson were the goaltenders in the home group. Chabot will play, but he’s on standby and could leav at any moment to be with his wife Marion, who’s expecting their first child any day now.
In Toronto, Tim Stützle centred Andre Burakovsky and Drake Batherson. Shane Pinto skated between Philip Tomasino and Michael Amadio, with the remaining lines featuring Luke Ellinas, Eskild Bakke Olsen and Kasper Halttunen, and Oskar Petterson, Philippe Daoust and Hayden Hodgson.
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Tyler Kleven and Carter Yakemchuk were paired on defence, as were Samuel Bolduc and Nikolas Matinpalo, and Scott Harrington and Christian Kyrou. Leevi Meriläinen and Jackson Parsons were the goaltenders in that group.
Zub’s absence, however long it will be, creates an opening on the right side of the Sens defence and another opportunity for the 20-year-old Yakemchuk to make his case. He has had some uneven moments in camp, but the numbers suggest he’ll begin the year in Ottawa.
The Senators will split into two groups again on Saturday for simultaneous games against Montreal, bringing their five-game preseason to a close. Wednesday will give Green a look at how some of his lower-end players handle bigger minutes and, as opportunity knocks, which defensemen will respond best.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
Read the full article here
