Not all the news was bad for the Ottawa Senators’ banged-up blueline.
After leaving the Senators’ big 5-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre late in the second period with an upper-body injury, Nick Jensen was among a handful of skaters taking part in an optional skate on Friday morning.
Already without veteran blueliner Thomas Chabot for what will likely be at least two weeks after he suffered an upper-body injury on Tuesday, Steve Staios — the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager — along with coach Travis Green were waiting to find out about Jensen’s status.
There was also good news on top defenceman Jake Sanderson. He took a shot off the wrist in the first period, left briefly and returned. He didn’t look quite right at points during the game, but felt fine on Friday.
“I’m good. I just jammed my wrist, but I woke up today feeling a lot better,” Sanderson said. “I was a little bit (concerned), but we have amazing trainers and they took care of me. I’m feeling a lot better.”
If Jensen isn’t ready to face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday to close out this four-game homestand, then the club will recall a blueliner from its American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville.
Staios was on the bench for a lengthy stretch watching Jensen skate with captain Brady Tkachuk, Nick Cousins, Hayden Hodgson and Kurtis MacDermid.
Lassi Thomson and rookie Carter Yakemchuk would be the top candidates, while the club also has the option of signing veteran defenceman Scott Harrington, who is on an AHL contract, to a National Hockey League deal. He has 250 games of NHL experience.
The club also has unsigned restricted free agent Max Guenette available to be signed. The Senators have been trying to trade him, but the injury to Chabot and losing Donovan Sebrango on waivers to the Florida Panthers have suddenly left the club a little short.
Perhaps it’s a good time to trade Guenette and try to get another blueliner back that can help. The Oilers also placed veteran Troy Stecher on waivers on Friday, which means he could be an option for a claim because he played for Green in Vancouver.
The news on Chabot is better than expected. He was sent for a couple of tests to rule out surgery and Green stated he was day-to-day. There is a good chance Chabot will return sometime during the club’s Western trip.
The fact that Jensen was on the ice on Friday is a credit to him. He took a hard hit from Mark Kastelic in the second and tried to stay in the game. We learned last year that Jensen will play through even the worst pain, as evidenced by finishing the year with a hip ailment that required surgery.
That’s the second straight time the Senators have finished a game with five defencemen. We make a big deal of it because the club is shorthanded and, while nobody wants to see anybody get injured, players will always be proponents of getting more ice time.
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“Every guy in the NHL wants to play as many minutes as they can, I can tell you that,” Green said. “Nobody wants to see a player get hurt, but when a player is going to get more ice time, he likes it for sure.”
Sanderson played 23 minutes and 33 seconds against the Bruins, while Artem Zub was at 23:07.
“You want to be on the ice, making plays, and you want to be an impactful player,” Sanderson said. “When a situation like last night comes again with five ‘D’, you’ve gotta embrace it, not just myself, but I thought Zub played a super-underrated game.
“That’s just the type of defenceman that he is. He’s so solid, so we can always count on him.”