Senators defenceman Artem Zub is back skating with the club after missing over five weeks with a foot fracture.
In a significant development for the franchise, Ottawa Senators defenceman Artem Zub fully participated during yesterday's team practice in Dallas.
The right-shot defenceman has not appeared in a game since sustaining a fractured foot blocking a shot in the team's November 23rd game against the Vancouver Canucks.
It has been a difficult start to the campaign for the stalwart defender. A violent hit from Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot in the opening moments of the Senators' third game of the season shelved Zub with a concussion for nine games.
Upon his return, he played what could fairly be described as uncharacteristically poor performances. Given the circumstances of a brain injury, expecting Zub to reintegrate and play at a high level was unreasonable. It was going to take time, and right before his injury, it looked like his game was starting to turn a corner. His performance against Vegas, which took place two days before the Vancouver game, was arguably the best of his season.
When healthy, Zub has the potential to be this team's best defensive defenceman. The rub is that he hasn't been able to stay in the lineup often enough. Zub's misfortune has exposed the Senators' quality of depth on the right side.
Although Travis Hamonic is a likeable veteran whose efforts and work ethic are never in question, he has been pressed into a role he is no longer suited for because of the lack of trust in the younger alternatives.
His performance in this elevated role, alongside partner Jake Sanderson, has made him a lightning rod for criticism. To the Senators' credit, however, in the 16 games since Zub's injury on November 23rd, the Senators have impressively played to an 11-4-1 record.
While goaltending let the team down in the first 20 games of the season, that has not been the case lately. In their last 16 games, the Senators have been on the wrong side of the shot and expected goal metrics at five-on-five. They have generated 49.17 percent of the shots (CF%, 20th), 49.64 percent of the shots on goal (SF%, 17th), and 49.47 percent of the expected goals (xGF%, 17th).
Considering the quality of competition and the fact that most of these games have been played on the road, the underlying metrics could be worse. Fortunately, unlike the team's start to the season, when they missed several opportunities to bank points in winnable games, they outperformed their metrics. The Senators scored 55.56 percent of the total goals (GF%) primarily because of their goaltending. The Senators' all-situations save percentage of 91.80 is the league's third-best mark since Zub's injury.
No decision has been publicly made on when Zub could return to game action, but it feels imminent. It is worth noting that he did skate with Jacob Bernard-Docker at practice as the extra fourth defensive pairing.
When he does return, the obvious point of optimism for a group that needs to work the margins and take advantage of every opportunity presented to them is they are close to dramatically upgrading the most significant position of need on the roster.
The bottom two pairings have struggled of late.
In the last 16 games without Zub, here is how they have fared per NaturalStatTrick:
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Jake Sanderson has the talent and opportunity to be Ottawa's best defenceman. He has fallen short of expectations after being their most valuable blue-liner last season. Cynically, it is easy to point the finger at his partner for the struggles, but Sanderson will be the first person to acknowledge his game has more room for growth.
If the Senators are going to make noise and push for the playoffs, they must find a way to get Sanderson back to last season's levels.
That help likely won't be coming from an external addition. With a thin farm system and the Evgenii Dadonov trade fiasco fallout, the Senators are not in a strong trade position to move prospects or draft capital.
Improvements at that position will have to come from within. A healthy and productive Zub has to be the answer.
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