Linus Ullmark Close To A Return
- The strain afflicting Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark has been more severe than expected. It’s supposed to last much longer as TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reports he is close to a return despite potent caution from the team. The likely scenario is that the organization was concerned Ullmark may reaggravate the strain or develop a worse injury altogether if he returned sooner, so the slow return may prove beneficial in the long run.
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Linus Ullmark Is A Full Participant In Practice
Barkov is dealing with a lower-body injury suffered in Florida’s game against the Ottawa Senators on October 10th. Imaging at the time confirmed that Barkov did not have a fractured ankle putting his recovery timeline around two weeks. Given that it’s already been a week since the initial injury diagnosis, Barkov is still on pace to return later next week.
- Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark is poised on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning even though he did not start tonight against the New Jersey Devils. TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reported earlier that Ullmark participated in the team’s practice this morning and appears mostly recovered from a mild sprain that has prohibited him from playing in the last two games.
Ottawa Senators Injury Updates
The Ottawa Senators are looking to pick up their third win of the young regular season tomorrow night but will have to do so without an important defenseman. TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reported defenseman Artem Zub will miss at least a week with a concussion while goaltender Linus Ullmark and defenseman Thomas Chabot appear ready to go.
The injury to Zub will strain the Senators’ defense for a short time, with the team already being thin on the right side of the blue line. According to line rushes today, veteran defenseman Travis Hamonic will move into the first pairing next to Jake Sanderson, with Jacob Bernard-Docker making his season debut on the bottom pairing.
Ottawa will find it difficult to match up against a speedy New Jersey Devils offense tomorrow night but it appears they are taking a more balanced approach to their defense while Zub recovers. Hamonic is no longer the quality shutdown defenseman he was with the New York Islanders organization in the early-to-mid 2010s, but he has started the 2024-25 season well, averaging 15:02 through the first three games.
Zub’s injury also gives some context to Garrioch’s report a few days ago that the Senators were already perusing the trade market to add a depth defenseman. The group looks markedly weaker even after sustaining one injury and Ottawa likely doesn’t want this to become a theme throughout the season with their eyes on the playoffs.
The back half of Garrioch’s injury report from today is positive as Ullmark returned to practice while recovering from a strain. TSN’s Claire Hanna shared a note from head coach Travis Green saying, “Linus Ullmark skated today, looked good, progressing well”. He did not confirm whether Ullmark would be the starter for tomorrow night but it appears they are headed in that direction. The team felt his absence in their most recent game against the Los Angeles Kings with Mads Sogaard and Anton Forsberg allowing seven goals on 26 shots in an overtime win.
Chabot left practice early today after colliding with Bernard-Docker during a drill in the neutral zone. He did not return to practice but multiple sources indicate he is doing fine and there is no concern for his availability in tomorrow night’s game against the Devils.
Senators Recall Adam Gaudette, Mads Søgaard
Oct. 16: Gaudette and Søgaard are back up with the Sens today, the team announced, so there’s no discernible change in either Greig’s or Ullmark’s injury status.
Oct. 15: According to a team announcement, the Senators have sent center Adam Gaudette and goaltender Mads Søgaard to AHL Belleville. The move ends a one-day stint on the active roster for Søgaard under emergency conditions. Meanwhile, Gaudette cleared waivers during the preseason but was never actually sent to the minors and remained on the opening night roster.
Gaudette, 28, appeared in two of Ottawa’s three games to begin the season, including yesterday’s wild 8-7 overtime win over the Kings. He managed an assist during that chaos and had a +2 rating, averaging 7:30 and going 5-for-7 in the faceoff dot across his pair of showings. He signed a two-way deal in free agency this summer after spending last season in the Blues organization, making two NHL appearances and leading the AHL in goals with 44 in 67 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Now firmly established as a top minor-league offensive threat with fringe NHL upside, Gaudette hasn’t been a full-time NHLer since the 2021-22 campaign. The fifth-round pick of the Canucks back in 2015 has 27 goals, 44 assists, 71 points, and a -35 rating in 222 NHL games in parts of seven seasons.
Søgaard was needed for game action yesterday after Linus Ullmark was scratched due to a muscle strain. Backup Anton Forsberg, who started in relief of Ullmark, also left the contest in the second period after a hard collision with Los Angeles defenseman Brandt Clarke. Søgaard allowed four goals on 17 shots in relief but still recorded the win.
It’s been a rough go of things thus far in the NHL for the 23-year-old Dane, who has intriguing upside with his 6’7″ frame but hasn’t been good when given the chance. He’s now logged NHL time in four straight seasons, and while his 11-10-3 record is strong for a non-playoff team, his other numbers aren’t – a .881 SV%, 3.53 GAA, and -17.5 GSAA in 24 career starts and four relief appearances. Søgaard will now return to Belleville, where he posted a .964 SV% in a shootout loss to Syracuse in his season debut last weekend.
He’ll likely be brought back up later this week if Ullmark isn’t ready to return against the Devils on Thursday. They also haven’t issued any further updates on Forsberg’s status. The same could be said for Gaudette, who’s been filling in while Ridly Greig is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Sending him to Belleville and keeping him off the active roster for a couple of days delays when he’ll need waivers again to return to the minors.
Ottawa Senators Dealing With Multiple Injuries
The Ottawa Senators may have won a high-scoring contest against the Los Angeles Kings earlier in the afternoon, but they will not come away unscathed. During the game, it had already been reported that defenseman Artem Zub would not return to action, and the team is still waiting for more tests with him. To add insult to injury, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reported that forward Ridly Greig is expected to miss a week or two with an upper-body injury and a follow-up report indicated goaltender Linus Ullmark would miss a few days due to a strain.
Unfortunately for the Senators the team has a relatively quick turnaround before their next game which comes Thursday against the red-hot New Jersey Devils. The team should announce as quickly as tomorrow whether or not Ullmark and Zub will be available for that contest.
Ottawa has already recalled goaltender Mads Sogaard on an emergency basis to fill in for the injured Ullmark who wasn’t available for today’s contest against the Kings. They utilized depth forward Adam Gaudette in today’s game to fill in for Greig but the team is likely to make a recall in the next few days with Greig potentially out until the end of October.
Greig’s absence shouldn’t put too much strain on the lineup early in the season with the organization opting to shorten his ice time out of the gates compared to last season. Greig managed 13 goals and 26 points in 72 games for the Senators last season while averaging 14:45 of ice time per night but only averaged 14:03 against the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens while centering the team’s fourth line.
Gaudette appears to be the best option to center the team’s fourth line moving forward with likely call-ups Matthew Highmore, Jan Jenik, and Angus Crookshank typically deployed on the wing throughout their careers. Still, Ottawa now has only 12 healthy forwards on the roster and will likely require an additional option up front especially when they leave for a three-game western road trip next week.
Arguably the most crucial point of the injury report is that Ullmark is not expected to be out long-term. Head coach Travis Green couldn’t confirm if Ullmark would be in the net on Thursday against the Devils but indicated the team’s game on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning should be a reasonable return date.
Injury Notes: Celebrini, LaCombe, Zub
Reigning first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini won’t be joining the San Jose Sharks on their first road trip of the season shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Celebrini is still nursing a lower-body injury that landed him on injured reserve the morning after his NHL debut. He would be eligible to return before the final game of the road trip – Friday’s matchup against Winnipeg. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t rule out the possibility of Celebrini joining the team ahead of that matchup, though he added that the team is taking things day by day.
Everything clicked for Celebrini in his NHL debut, with his first goal coming just seven minutes into his career on a spin-o-rama pass deflected in; and his first assist coming just 10 minutes later on a connection with scoring-winger Tyler Toffoli. He’s taken well to the role of San Jose’s top centerman, a familiar statement for anyone who watched Celebrini immediately step into Boston Univeristy’s top center role last year. That season ended in BU pushing into the NCAA Championship Frozen Four semi-finals and Celebrini becoming the youngest Hobey Baker ‘MVP’ Award winner ever. The Sharks are far away from those levels of success in the NHL – but the precedent that Celebrini brings gives all the more reason to handle his first career injury with extra care. He’ll face the task of getting healthy before the week ends, to join the Sharks against the presently-undefeated Winnipeg Jets.
Other injury updates:
- Anaheim Ducks defender Jackson LaCombe missed his second consecutive game with illness on Sunday night, shares Derek Lee of The Hockey News. LaCombe was a late scratch in Anaheim’s season opener – paving way for Olen Zellweger to make his season debut, though Urho Vaakanainen who got the start on Sunday. Neither defender scored in their spot start. They’ll continue battling for ice time while LaCombe returns to form and – pending a breakout performance from Zellweger or Vaakanainen – an everyday lineup role.
- Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub left the team’s Monday game with an upper-body injury after a heavy first-period hit from Los Angeles’ Tanner Jeannot. Zub has taken on the role of third defender for the Senators, averaging 19:38 in ice time through the team’s first two games. He’s yet to find his first point of the season, though Zub has managed four shots, one penalty, and a +1. He faced multiple injuries last season, ultimately limited to 69 games and 25 points. He’ll be a locked-in top option when healthy, while an absence would open space for Tyler Kleven or Nick Jensen to earn more minutes.
Senators Recall Mads Sogaard On Emergency Basis
The Ottawa Senators have recalled goaltender Mads Sogaard under emergency conditions after starter Linus Ullmark missed the team’s Sunday practice. Head coach Travis Green described Ullmark’s absence as a maintenance day, though it now seems the Senators could be without their former Vezina Trophy winner when they host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. No details about Ullmark’s possible injury have been revealed.
Sogaard will join the NHL roster after starting his AHL season off strong. He only allowed one goal in his first start – the overtime game-winner of a 1-0 Belleville loss. It was a stifling performance after Sogaard saved 27 consecutive shots, but it still stood as a sign of life after the young netminder allowed three goals on 18 shots in his only preseason game with Ottawa.
Sogaard, 23, has served as Ottawa’s de facto third-string goalie for the last three seasons, totaling 27 games with the NHL club in that span. His results have been a mixed bag, ultimately resulting in a losing record of 10-10-3 and a save percentage of .884. He’s been much stronger in the AHL, where he’s managed a 50-33-8 record and .909 save percentage through 97 career games.
News of a potential Ullmark injury will weigh on Senators fans. The new addition has allowed just five goals on 58 shots through Ottawa’s first two games, good for a .914 save percentage and a split 1-1 record. He’ll be Ottawa’s goalie of the future, ensured by a recent four-year, $33MM contract extension. Ullmark did miss time in Ottawa’s training camp with an undisclosed injury, but otherwise hasn’t appeared banged up. It’ll be Anton Forsberg drawing the start if Ullmark is forced to sit. Forsberg recorded a 15-12-0 record and .890 save percentage in 30 games with the Senators last season.
Upper-Body Injury For Greig, Could Still Play Monday
Senators center Ridly Greig is dealing with an upper-body injury, relays Sportsnet’s Alex Adams (Twitter link). The 22-year-old locked down a regular spot in Ottawa’s lineup for most of last season, notching 13 goals and 13 assists in 72 games while logging nearly 15 minutes a night. Greig has been on the wing to start the year and missed a couple of shifts in Saturday’s game against Montreal, presumably due to the injury. He might not be out for long, however, as head coach Travis Green noted that Greig could still suit up on Monday against Los Angeles.
Senators Looking To Add Defensive Depth
This early in the season, most teams will be looking to hold off on making any moves of significance, wanting to see what they have over the first month or two. Accordingly, a lot will be focusing on their depth situation if the opportunity presents itself to do something.
It appears that the Senators are a team that wants to add to their depth before too long. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that GM Steve Staios has been looking around the market for a depth blueliner. While they gave some consideration to some of the players waived at the beginning of the week, they opted not to claim one, presumably feeling that they can swing a move to get one.
Ottawa’s top four on the back end is well-established. Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub have been around for several years, Jake Sanderson is still in the early stages of his career but projects to be a fixture for years to come, and Nick Jensen was acquired from Washington in the Jakob Chychrun trade. Barring injury, that part of the blueline is set.
Beyond that, however, things get a little murkier. On opening night, veteran Travis Hamonic and Tyler Kleven – who has just 18 games of NHL experience – comprised the bottom pairing. Jacob Bernard-Docker, who cleared waivers at this time last year, was the spare defender but notably did play in 72 games for the Sens last season after an early-season recall. Kleven and Bernard-Docker both have some promise but are relatively unproven still while Hamonic has seen his effectiveness slide in recent years. That section of the back end can be improved upon as a result.
However, one thing Staios will have to be mindful of is the salary cap. The team currently has less than $900K in cap space per PuckPedia. While that’s enough to afford to add a depth blueliner, it would effectively cap them out unless one of the other blueliners came off the roster. Kleven is waiver-exempt while Bernard-Docker and Hamonic aren’t; Hamonic also has no-move protection which takes waivers off the table. Can Ottawa find an upgrade that would allow them to send Kleven down or risk losing Bernard-Docker on the wire? It appears that’s what they’re looking to find out.
Atlantic Notes: Benson, Peterka, Tkachuk, Stützle, Poitras
The Sabres may get winger Zach Benson back in the lineup tonight against the Kings. He’s a game-time decision with the lower-body injury that kept him out of the second game of last week’s Global Series against the Devils, head coach Lindy Ruff said today. However, they won’t have John-Jason Peterka‘s services for the home opener – he’s been ruled out against L.A. with a concussion.
Buffalo only has 13 forwards on the active roster, including Benson and Peterka. They don’t have any open spots on the 23-man roster, so if Benson can’t go, the Sabres will run 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight. That means Jacob Bryson or Dennis Gilbert could make their season debut after sitting in the press box for both Global Series games.
Injuries up front are the last thing the Sabres need after their offense sputtered against New Jersey, producing just one goal apiece in each contest en route to a pair of multi-goal losses. Peterka, who finished fourth on the team in scoring last season with 50 points (28 G, 22 A) in 82 games, is the far more notable loss in that regard, although the sophomore Benson is a valuable middle-six piece in his own right. Rookie Jiri Kulich, who the Sabres picked up with the No. 28 overall pick in 2022, will skate in Peterka’s place on the top line with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch in just his third career NHL game, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- If there was any doubt, Senators star forwards Tim Stützle and Brady Tkachuk will play in their season opener tonight after leaving a late preseason game against the Canadiens with upper body injuries, per the team. They’ll reprise their top-line roles with Claude Giroux, who also missed a bit of exhibition action while on personal leave, on their right wing. The Sens host the defending champion Panthers in their first game of the season, which also marks Linus Ullmark‘s first regular-season appearance for Ottawa after inking a four-year, $33MM extension yesterday.
- Bruins sophomore center Matthew Poitras remains on IR with an undisclosed injury but is closer to returning, head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters today, including Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe. He shed his no-contact jersey today, and since his IR placement was retroactive to Oct. 3, he’s now eligible to return at any time. The Bruins have an open roster spot for now, so there’s no corresponding transaction necessary to reinstate him. The 20-year-old had 15 points in 33 games for Boston last season before shoulder surgery truncated his campaign.