The fallout from their physical battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Boxing day continues as Ottawa will be without the services of Jason Spezza for at least six weeks. Having been nailed into the boards by Kris Letang, Spezza went into the boards awkwardly and injured his right shoulder.
As of now, it is expected that Spezza will not require surgery to repair any damage to his shoulder. The team is waiting for the swelling to go down and then they will re-evaluate him further. If Spezza does miss six weeks, that could potentially be 20 games where Ottawa will be without their number one centre.
The next six weeks are very important to Ottawa as they are battling for the last playoff spot in the East. They currently sit six points out of eighth and are in tough to make the playoffs even with their number one centre healthy. With Spezza out, this may end any hopes of Ottawa making the playoffs.
It is expected Peter Regin will fill in for Spezza between Milan Michalek and Alex Kovalev on one of the top two lines. Regin has been somewhat of a disappointment this season as he only has one goal and ten points in total. This is his shot to regain the confidence of the coach and organization and capture the magic he had in last year’s playoffs.
Zach Smith has been re-called from the AHL Binghamton Senators on an emergency basis to fill in for Spezza’s roster spot. Smith played 10 games at the beginning of the season with Ottawa and had two goals in his limited role. In 22 games with Bingo this year, Smith has seven goals and 12 points. Look for Smith to line up on the fourth line with Winchester and Shannon.
Life without Spezza begins this Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.