Injured Senators Thomas Chabot and Linus Ullmark both travelled with the team to Las Vegas, an encouraging sign for the pair’s recovery process.
While Ullmark did not practice with the team on Monday in Las Vegas, Chabot did. The Senators’ captain shed the yellow non-contact jersey he’d been wearing previously and skated alongside Cam Crotty on the fourth pair during line rushes.
“I feel good, and slowly coming back. It's obviously something that unfortunately, takes a little bit of time, just needs to kind of get back to normal,” said Chabot after practice. The defenceman exited the team’s loss to Philadelphia on Oct. 17 with an upper-body injury.
“But we're slowly feeling better every day, and obviously it's nice to be back in a normal jersey at practice.”
In his absence, the Senators have relied more heavily on Tyler Kleven and Nikolas Matinpalo on the left side, the latter of whom has been playing on his off side on a pairing with Carter Yakemchuk. Kleven holds a team-high +6 rating through 12 games, while Matinpalo is not far behind, at +5.
“He's stepping up, he's playing good hockey. He's moving well. Moves the puck well. When he plays physical, it creates a lot of time and space for himself,” said Chabot of Kleven.
“So it's been fun to watch him, I mean, ‘Klev’, and everybody else. Even [Nikolas Matinpalo] has been playing amazing… Every guy in the lineup back there is playing some great hockey, and it's fun.”
Overall, the Senators blueline has been a key part of their success this season. The team has allowed just 21 goals at even-strength this year, tied with the Minnesota Wild for the fifth-fewest in the NHL.
“I think that our team is playing better in a lot of areas. I think that we're playing pretty good in the D-zone, we're getting more puck touches in the O-zone, and we're creating more chances five-on-five. And I mean, I'm happy with how the team's been playing,” said Kleven.
Travis Green wasn’t sure if Chabot was going to dress on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, given his jersey colour at practice, but said that he was “definitely close to playing.”
