RALEIGH, N.C. -- Artem Zub did not play for the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Monday.
The defenseman sustained an undisclosed injury early in the second period of a 2-0 loss in Game 1 on Saturday after checking Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis. Zub, who plays on Ottawa's top defense pair, played just 7:44 in the loss.
“It’s a big loss when he goes out," Senators coach Travis Green said on Sunday. "Someone’s got to step up to play those minutes against the top lines."
Zub had an NHL career-high 30 points (five goals, 25 assists) and a plus-22 rating while averaging 20:48 of ice time in 81 regular-season games.
Lassi Thomson, who was scratched in Game 1, was inserted into the lineup on Monday. He played in 11 games in the regular season, registering three assists and a plus-3 rating.
Thomson was listed on the third defense pair with Dennis Gilbert. Nikolas Matinpalo took rushes on the first pair with Jake Sanderson, who played a team-high 27:25 in Game 1. Matinpalo played 17:08 in Game 1 and was minus-1.
Missing defensemen is nothing new for the Senators. They dressed 13 defensemen during the regular season, a number higher than Green could remember in his coaching career.
“Obviously, our pairs have been jumbled up a bit (because of injuries),” Sanderson said. “I think that is kind of the beauty of our team. We are all very close on the back end. We know each other’s games pretty well.”
