East Notes: Senators, Michkov, Rust

The Senators are .500 through their first 10 games, but that’s been enough to stay on the verge of a playoff position in an Atlantic Division that’s been mainly underwhelming to begin the season. Injuries have played a significant factor, with new starter Linus Ullmark missing a few games and other essential pieces, namely center Shane Pinto and right-shot defenseman Artem Zub, currently sidelined with significant but not ultra-long-term ailments.

Those latter two absences have led the Senators to consider adding more depth to those positions in particular, general manager Steve Staios told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen yesterday. That’s likely an action item for later in the season, though. Staios still wants to give some runway to their internal options to prove they can step up in relief. “I believe that leads to stability as well as confidence in the group,” he said.

So far, those internal options have done the job and likely lessened Staios’ urgency to make a move. Depth pivot Adam Gaudette has five goals in nine games as an injury fill-in after spending most of last season in the AHL, while 24-year-old Jacob Bernard-Docker has posted solid possession numbers (57.7 CF%, 50.0 xGF%) while relieving Zub on the back end.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

• It’s been a bit of a rough stretch for current Calder Trophy frontrunner Matvei Michkov over the past couple of games. After going point-per-game through his first nine appearances and taking home NHL Rookie of the Month honors for October, he’s gone without a point in his past four and recorded a season-low 13:56 on Thursday against the Blues before posting a -3 rating in a shutout loss to the Bruins earlier today. That’s led to intermittent benchings from John Tortorella, something neither coach nor player views as a real cause for concern, writes Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. “I just wanted him to sit (on the bench), relax, think about what I said to him,” Tortorella said. “I think it was two or three rotations, we put him back out there. He may miss games, who knows? I don’t know what’s going to happen. But that’s part of the development of a 19-year-old kid.“
• Penguins winger Bryan Rust skated today for the first time since landing on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 32-year-old has now missed a pair of games with the injury, which he sustained on Oct. 26 against the Canucks. He’ll be eligible to come off IR anytime but is still listed as week-to-week. He had three goals and an assist in eight appearances before exiting the lineup.