The Senators earned an impressive 4-1 victory over Buffalo but it came with more adversity for the blue line.
The Ottawa Senators’ relentless rash of injuries to defensemen continued Thursday night.
Already without Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, Carter Yakemchuk, Nick Jensen, and Dennis Gilbert, they lost Tyler Kleven during a 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at Canadian Tire Centre. Kleven left the game in the first period and did not return after taking a puck up high that struck him either in the side of the head or the neck area.
There's no word yet on how long Kleven will be out. He has three goals and 18 points in 69 games this season.
His injury not only left the Senators with five defensemen for most of the night, but all five were right shots. Kleven, who’s been eating up huge minutes with all the injuries, was the only healthy left shot on the NHL roster.
After the game head coach Travis Green didn't have anything definitive yet on Kleven, but told the media after the game he was "not expecting it to be great news."
This is more rough news for a lineup that already included the inexperience of Cam Crotty and Lassi Thomson. Thomson had played only three NHL games this season. For Crotty, the Ottawa native, this was just his third career NHL game.
That meant the Senators leaned heavily on Jordan Spence, who was a healthy scratch at the start of the season. He played 30:18.
Meanwhile, the options in Belleville are limited. Jorian Donovan, who got into two games last week, the first of his career, seems like the most likely callup candidate if healthy NHL-level reinforcements aren't coming.
On that front, Jake Sanderson is getting close to a return from an upper-body injury. He’s been skating with the team for a few days now. Dennis Gilbert suffered an upper-body injury on March 21 and was given a three-week prognosis, so he’s at least another week away.
If Sanderson can't go, it will be yet another next man up scenario on Saturday afternoon. The Senators, now back in a playoff spot, will host the Minnesota Wild in game two of a five game homestand.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News