If you blinked too often, you may have missed something on Wednesday at the Canadian Tire Centre.
The Ottawa Senators were skating back at home for the first time in a week as they prepared to face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night in a stretch of four games in six days before the National Hockey League’s mandated holiday break.
You couldn’t miss the return of defenceman Thomas Chabot to practice for the first time since he reinjured a core muscle in his lower body on Nov. 24 against the San Jose Sharks.
He won’t suit up against the Penguins, but is closing in on a return and that could be as early as Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks or possibly Sunday on the road against the Boston Bruins.
But if you happened to turn your head the wrong way, you wouldn’t have seen top goaltender Linus Ullmark having at least two conversations with head athletic therapist Dom Nicoletta during a break in the drills.
That discussion didn’t appear to be anything that anyone should be concerned about until Ullmark left the skate early, along with defenceman Jake Sanderson. It was around this time last season that Ullmark suffered a back ailment that kept him out for six weeks.
Coach Travis Green told reporters he wasn’t concerned about either player but, given the Senators’ injury issues this season, it’s a situation worth monitoring.
The club already is without centre Shane Pinto and veteran Lars Eller, so they don’t need to put anyone else on the injury list.
Pinto resumed skating on Tuesday for the first time since he left the club’s loss to the New York Rangers on Dec. 2. Green said he’d be out a minimum of two weeks, and it would appear Pinto won’t be back until the Senators face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 27 on the road.
Eller blocked a shot against the Columbus Blue Jackets a week ago and broke his left foot. He will be out at least three more weeks and that’s a big hit because he has been a solid addition.
Help is on the way
Help is on the way with Chabot closing in on a return.
Chabot played 21 minutes and 45 seconds against the Sharks while back with his old defensive partner, Nick Jensen. Chabot missed three games as a result of the ailment he suffered on Nov. 11 against the Dallas Stars.
Chabot didn’t make any physical contact when he suffered the injury the second time. He let off a weak shot and then headed straight to the bench, where he was having a long discussion with Nicoletta.
Chabot has been skating for the last week while the Senators were on the road, but Wednesday was his first full practice.
“It’s been a long road, but it’s good to be back practicing with the guys,” Chabot said. “It helps the mental side of things and the morale a little bit to be back on the same schedule as the team.
“It was a fun day, it was a great practice. I went through the pace of an NHL practice, contact and competing a little bit. It felt nice to be out there.”
Chabot made it clear he didn’t feel like he came back too early the first time when he played the Sharks. He felt fine and he wanted to play — that’s the way Chabot is wired and that’s why he was back the first time.
“To be honest, I felt great. I had skated a bunch and did every step on the way and felt good enough to go out there and play,” Chabot said. “I didn’t rush to come back or anything, as I was fully confident.
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“I played the whole game (in San Jose) and then it happened at the end. Maybe sometimes when you look back on those things, you ask a lot of questions. But as I said, it’s just kind of the s***** luck. It was part of it. I had to go through it. We did it right this time.”
Every precaution is being taken to make sure that Chabot is fully recovered.
“It’s easy to look back on it when it happened, and yes, you ask yourself a lot of questions,” Chabot said. “What you could have done and whatnot? But we just went through it and took a bit more time.
“And you know what, with our staff, I’ve always said it, our staff’s awesome here. They give us every chance possible to succeed and rehab it as best as we can. We have a great staff here.
It was backed up by everybody and it was long, and you hate missing time, but it’s something I wanted to take care of and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”