The Ottawa Senators’ Covid-19 saga took another turn Thursday with three players being added to Protocol.
The day opened with six players, forwards Austin Watson, Connor Brown, Dylan Gambrell, defensemen Nick Holden, Victor Mete, Josh Brown being isolated. That number climbed to eight in the a.m. as goalie Matt Murray and speedy winger Alex Formenton also found themselves in Protocol.
To make matters worse, if that was actually possible – 30 minutes prior to puck-drop d-man Nikita Zaitsev became the Senators ninth player to enter Covid-19 Protocol.
Not to mention, associate coach Jack Capuano is also on the sideline.
With AHL callup Dillon Heatherington already penciled into the lineup on the Senators’ blue line, 20-year old Lassi Thomson who played over 22 minutes the previous night for the BSens entered stage right for the team. Thomson certainly didn’t look out of place in his NHL debut.
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The Senators 2019 19th overall Entry Draft selection acquitted himself exceedingly well for the undermanned Senators. Thomson appeared to get stronger as the game went on and was arguably one of the club’s top three players in what was a 2-0 loss at the hands of Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings.
The Finn played 22:29, second only to Thomas Chabot‘s 31:53. He didn’t get a shot on a goal but showed poise in his ability to clear the puck out of his zone, stop a couple of rushes and threaded several passes.
Head coach D.J. Smith said Thomson’s play was “phenomenal” and “looked like he’d been in the league awhile.”
Chabot added, “He belonged in the NHL.” Chabot would know as he ended up being paired with Thomson during their third-period push.
Told he was going to be in the lineup only 30 minutes prior to the game, Thomson didn’t have time to dwell on the importance in making his NHL debut.
“I think that’s the best way. I didn’t feel so nervous,” Thomson noted via Zoom. “I just want to be around the boys and enjoy the night.”
The Senators suffered another blow Thursday as defenseman Artem Zub left the game after first period collision with Kings Carl Grundstrom at centre ice in which he suffered an upper-body injury.
There was no postgame injury update on Zub who’s considered the team’s second-best d-man. Zub’s injury, hopefully not serious is another blow to a team that’s seen more of it’s share of terrible luck of late.
The Senators are now winless in six games (0-5-1) and have fallen out of the divisional playoff race.
One positive; centre Shane Pinto who’s been out with a shoulder injury for the past three weeks may suit up this weekend. However, with another practice canceled Friday due to the Senators’ ongoing Covid-19 situation, it’s uncertain where Pinto’s conditioning level lies.
Scheduled to face the Penguins and Flames in back-to-back games this weekend, the Senators find themselves in another uphill battle.
And at this juncture, there’s no telling what their roster is going to look like.
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