The Ottawa Senators are truly embodying the ‘next man up’ mentality right now. With William Eklund out with an ankle injury for an extended period of time and officially entering the club’s never-ending injured player list, the question that remains is who will replace him? Eklund began this season as a top-six winger and had an important role on the Senators' power play. During the last game, head coach Travis Green even tested him on the team’s top line with star centre Tim Stützle and winger Drake Batherson. Sadly, this experiment was short-lived due to his unfortunate injury.
Time to fill the gaps
The injury to Eklund now creates an even more significant opportunity for the club’s other off-season acquisition, André Burakovsky. The 2013 first-round pick in the NHL draft is expected to make his regular season debut for the Senators after a preseason injury, and he is slotted to begin the game on the top line with Stützle and Batherson. Burakovsky is probably Ottawa’s most natural band-aid solution for replacing Eklund; however, both of these players were expected to have top-six roles on the team. Whether or not he can replace Ekund’s on-ice contributions is a story yet to unfold.
Burakovksy had a rather impressive preseason with the Senators before a collision with Montreal Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj on September 26. Throughout the preseason, he had three assists. What’s even more impressive is that two of these assists came on power-play goals by teammates Claude Giroux and Carter Yakemchuk.
To replace Eklund’s primary role on the team’s second line with centre Dylan Cozens and former San Jose Sharks teammate Fabian Zetterlund, pesky Senator Ridly Greig has been promoted. Greig will be playing just his third regular season game tonight versus the Nashville Predators after serving a two game suspension from an incident in the playoffs with Caroline Hurricanes defenceman Sean Walker.
Greig's elevated role
Greig brings not only some fight and tenacity, but he also serves as an aggressive forechecker who may complement Cozen’s puck-moving drive through the middle and Zetterlund’s physicality. They spent time together after Eklund exited the team’s home opener versus the Philadelphia Flyers and are expected to build on their chemistry over the next few games. If Greig can remain consistent with Cozens and Zetterlund while Burakovsky fills in alongside Stützle and Batherson, the organization may be able to survive while Eklund recovers. All eyes will be on the team’s two top lines, however, to ensure that their offensive production does not miss a beat. Stützle leads the team with six points and three goals in just four games.
Despite Artem Zub resuming skating and participating in today’s morning skate, he served as an extra and will not make his regular season debut as he continues to heal from a nagging knee injury. Rookie defenceman Hoyt Stanley is expected to once again play on the team’s third defensive pairing with Nikolas Matinpalo.
Slowly but surely, the Senators are getting some of their healthy players back. Zub’s return is imminent; Kurtis MacDermid was back on the ice this morning, and Jake Sanderson is expected to be days away from joining the team. With all that being said, the team has been off to a great start with three wins in four games. Despite their depth being tested very early in the season, the Senators have found ways to grind out wins and important points early in the season. The Predators defeated the Canadiens 5-2 Thursday night and are arriving at the nation’s capital with two wins. The hope is that the Senators team can continue to fire on all cylinders despite their latest injuries.
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