Plagued With Key Injuries, It’s Next Man Up for the Ottawa Senators

The update for a pair of Ottawa Senators’ forwards Tim Stützle and Tyler Motte injured in Monday night’s tilt with the Anaheim Ducks was that there was no true update per head coach D.J. Smith.

Upon completing a team optional practice Tuesday morning, Smith told assembled media, “Nothing on Tim (Stützle). We’ll know more, he’s going to have some tests this afternoon. We should know more and have some kind of update tomorrow – same for (Tyler) Motte. We’ll know more tomorrow (Wednesday), but likely they won’t play tomorrow night.”

Checked into the boards awkwardly by Ducks Brett Leason, Stützle appeared to twist his right arm/shoulder and headed immediately to the room after the hit.

Motte also left Monday’s game with an “upper-body injury” in the first period on a play where he cut to the net, launched a backhand off the post, then as he rounded the net he was dumped by Ducks d-man Simon Benoit.

It’ll be a tough blow to the club if Stützle and/or Motte miss extensive time. Possessing a 6-2-1 record in the past nine games, the Senators are in the midst of their most productive stretch since their four-game home winning streak early in the season.

The club has been dealing with the injury bug since training camp where goalie Cam Talbot sustained a rib fracture days prior to opening night, causing him to miss all of October.

Number one centre Josh Norris injured his shoulder five games in and remains out until at least January.

Defenseman Artem Zub, who’s currently out with a jaw fracture is in his second stint on injured reserve.

Forward Mathieu Joseph is out for at least one more week after suffering a leg injury in Dallas last Thursday. While d-man Thomas Chabot missed five games with multiple injuries in November.

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So in layman’s terms, the Senators are now missing their top two centres, third-line left and right-wing, in addition to their no. 1 right-shot defenseman.

Stützle’s potential loss leaves the team without its playmaking force on the league’s vaunted seventh-ranked power play. Heading into the game, Stützle (27 points in 27 games) along with Brady Tkachuk were on a point-per-game pace. More recently, the 20-year-old has become a steady influence on the Senators’ penalty kill which now sees Joseph, Motte, Norris, and Zub all absent.

With seven games to be played including this evening’s contest between now and the holiday break, the Senators are desperately attempting to climb back into the Atlantic Division race.

One option to fill Stützle’s number one pivot spot is shift Claude Giroux from right wing to his natural centre position – something Smith prefers to avoid if possible as it may be taxing on the 34-year old, “We do have a surplus (of centres) and not as many wingers. It is an option, but it’s a big difference when you’re taking one of your top scorers, and now it’s a 200-foot game every single, every single night. And I think it all depends how long Tim will be out. If it’s just a short fix, yes, but we will look at all those things once we know the tests (results).”

An obvious choice to fill in for Motte in the interim is Dylan Gambrell. Gambrell has been shuttled in and out of the lineup all season but is a dependable defensive forward who works hard on a nightly basis.

The Senators’ head coach realizes injuries are part of the game. Last season, the team lost three centres for an extended stretch. Norris missed 16 games, while Shane Pinto and Colin White lost the bulk of their seasons.

“One thing I know if Tim is going to be out an amount of time, after a game or two no one is going to remember and they’re going to expect you to win, so you have to push forward. If we have to change the style to be back more – whatever the case may be, we have to do it. If we can get healthy that’ll be to be seen, but in the meantime, there’s nothing you can do. The next guy up has to do better. The guys that are in there have to give you a little more than what they’ve given you,” Smith acknowledged.

The Senators’ American affiliate has also caught the injury bug. Forwards Cory Conacher, Philippe Daoust, Jayce Hawryluk, Roby Jarventie, Viktor Lodin are out.

Possible candidates for recall include Jake Lucchini, Angus Crookshank, Ridly Greig and Egor Sokolov.

With the Senators facing the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday, Lucchini, a former Laval Rocket who’s transitioned well to Belleville the past two seasons registering 27 goals and 47 assists in 96 games is the logical choice in the interim. The 27-year-old inked a two-way deal with the club in the off-season.

Depending on the length of time either player may miss, a soft trade may also be under consideration. However, the NHL has a holiday roster freeze running from midnight on December 19 through to midnight on the 27th.