On Friday morning, Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green announced that he didn't really have an update on the injury to centre Shane Pinto. He did say Pinto would miss Saturday night's home game against the St. Louis Blues.

But the injured reserve list had a little more information for us on Saturday morning, because Pinto's name was on it. An NHL team can place a player on IR if he's "reasonably expected to be injured, ill or disabled and unable to play for a minimum of seven (7) days from the onset of such injury, illness or disability."

Then, after Saturday's game day skate, Green announced to the media that Pinto would be out for "at least two weeks." He even compared Pinto's loss to being without captain Brady Tkachuk. Fortunately, it looks like the injury isn't so serious that it will require surgery.

Pinto suffered a lower-body injury on Thursday on what appeared to be a routine body check from former Senator Mika Zibanejad.

Down near the end boards in Ottawa's end, Pinto tried to jump on a loose puck on his backhand, but as he looked up ice, it slipped off his stick blade. As he reached back and opened up to get his stick back on the puck, that’s when Zibanejad made contact.

That left Pinto briefly off balance and vulnerable, and while it isn't clear what he injured, it led to an awkward absorption of the hit and a not-so-graceful fall. It also looked like Pinto's skate may have jammed into the base of the boards just before he fell to the ice.

Thomas Chabot is also on IR, and the Senators are still without Lars Eller, who's still listed as day to day. None of this is great timing, especially with the standings being so tight. One day you're in second place in the Atlantic, the next you're down near the bottom of the Eastern standings.

The whole point of putting a player on IR is to clear a roster spot to allow the Sens to call up a replacement. That replacement, at least from a roster perspective, will be Hayden Hodgson, who was called up on Saturday morning.

Hodgson is a player who can skate and hit, but quite obviously, isn't here to try and directly replace Pinto. That role will fall to Ridly Greig, who's expected to slide into Pinto's third-line centre role.

The Senators host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at 7 pm.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

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