The City of Angels will serve as the setting for the return to the lineup of Thomas Chabot.
Chabot was paired with Jordan Spence at morning skate on the ice at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, where the Senators will play visitors to the Kings on Thursday night. This will mark the first game of the season in which the Sens have a fully healthy blueline.
“Obviously, missed a few games, that always sucks, but we felt like it was some needed time after what happened, so no, just happy to be back here, and back in the lineup,” said Chabot, who left Oct. 17’s game in Philadelphia with an upper-body injury.
“I think it’s trying to get back in the game slowly, it’s just trying to get back to keeping it simple, and trying to play my game… I’ve gone through it a few times, the team’s playing well, doing well, and we’ve had some success all year, so it’s just me bringing my game and adding to that.”
For the first time since opening night in Toronto, both Chabot and Jake Sanderson will be in the lineup. Sanderson left that game in Toronto after playing only four-and-a-half minutes.
“It’s huge, I think this is our first time having a full lineup on the D corps, and he’s a big part [of it]. At the start of the season, he was playing really well, really good hockey, and to be playing beside him, it’s really easy to play with him, he’s everywhere [and] he communicates,” said Spence.
“I think when there were injuries, there were a lot of guys that we relied on with logging a lot of minutes. I think Chabby and Sandy especially, coming back, you can just even it out so you don’t really get tired with the other guys. It’s three solid D pairings, and I think we’re pretty confident with our skills and how we perform on the ice. We’ve just got to go out there and just do our job and do our best to help this team win.”
Spence will play as a visitor in Los Angeles for just the second time in his career. He spent the first four seasons of his NHL career with the Kings before a trade sent him to Ottawa in the summer of 2025. He says the Sens need to look past his old team’s 3-6-2 record.
“Don’t take them too lightly. They’re a good hockey team, they do have skill, and size, so we’ve got to come prepared mentally and physically. When we have a good first period, usually it correlates to the second and third,” said Spence.
“That’s what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to focus on having a full 60-minute game, we’re looking forward to doing that.”
