Sens defence responds to Chabot injury; third line continues rolling

With an overtime loss on Tuesday night against Dallas, the Ottawa Senators have now managed to pick up points in 10 of their last 11 games and currently hold the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.

Travis Green spoke to the media on Wednesday morning after an optional skate and gave an update on Thomas Chabot, who was injured in the first period on Tuesday. Chabot tried to come back out for the second period but ultimately did not return.

Green said that Chabot was evaluated this morning, and the team will know more later on Wednesday, but that it was “unlikely” the defenceman would play on Thursday night when Boston comes to town.

“It’s an opportunity for someone else, the rest of the [defence],” said Green when asked what the absence means for the back-end. “Obviously [Tyler Kleven] will share some of those minutes. We’ll have to figure out someone else; probably play a righty on the left side.”

Jake Sanderson logged 29:03 of ice time last night in Chabot’s absence, the eighth most of his career and said the absence is going to hurt. “He’s such a huge part of our team, he plays big minutes, he plays both sides of the puck. I’m not sure how long he’ll be out for but we’ll miss him for sure.”

Meanwhile, Tyler Kleven — who shares the Senators’ blue line with Sanderson and once did the same at the University of North Dakota — logged a career-high 25:27 time on ice on Tuesday.

“I think Klev showed last night that he can do it,” said Sanderson when asked about the left-shot Kleven stepping up into a bigger role in Chabot’s absence. “I thought he played great… we can definitely trust him.”

The Sens have two more games left on the homestand before embarking on a seven-game road trip — the longest of the season — that sees the team travel to California, Las Vegas, St. Louis, and Dallas before finishing off in Montreal.

“It’s a huge loss missing Brady and now Chabby, so I think it’s on everybody in this room to step up,” said Sanderson. “Those are two guys that are very vocal, so I think it gives some guys more opportunity to step up in leadership roles.”

Red-hot third line sparks Jensen’s first of the season

Nick Jensen scored his first of the season after receiving a slick give-andgo from Claude Giroux and Michael Amadio in the first period last night. It was Jensen’s first goal overall since Jan. 18 of last season.

“Just trying to have a little bit more poise on the blueline to let certain plays develop, instead of just grabbing it and throwing it low or throwing it to the net,” said Jensen about the pinch that led to his goal.

“Sometimes that is the play, but that’s not always the play. Guys were working to get open and it was just the play [that developed]… you don’t have, like, a set play that you’re doing it’s just sometimes guys are getting open, you’re getting moving, it’s hard for defence to cover that when guys are moving all over the place.”

Jensen said he didn’t want to dwell on his offseason hip surgery — which led to the veteran missing all but one preseason game — when asked if the goal meant anything extra to him.

“It’s a day-by-day, game-by-game, shift-by-shift mentality that I’ve always taken,” said Jensen. “Chips are going to fall where they fall, and I think if you take that approach, a lot of the time you’re going to get good results.”

With the assist, Amadio now has points in five straight and seven in his last eight games. Amadio, Shane Pinto, and Claude Giroux have been extremely effective overall — not just compared to third lines leaguewide, but all forward lines.

Per MoneyPuck, the trio rank seventh overall in expected goals-for percentage at 66.7 per cent. The strength and chemistry between the three early on has led to the line being the only combination that Travis Green hasn’t shuffled for the past few weeks.

Shane Pinto began the year the hot hand with eight goals in the team’s first nine games. Claude Giroux has been consistent, like always, with three goals and nine assists through the first 17. And as of late, it’s been Amadio serving the role of finisher. The 29-year-old’s five goals in his last seven games puts him on pace to smash career highs.

“Yeah, I think he’s always been super effective at kind of pick-pocketing guys and just having good details, but he has obviously way more confidence this year, this good start is helping him out a ton,” said Pinto, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Wednesday.

“He’s fun to play with, he does all the little details, his hockey IQ is really high,” said Giroux. “When you play with a guy like that, you know he’s going to win his battles, so it definitely makes everyone’s job easier when you’re on the ice with him.”

Pinto echoed the sentiment that Amadio is fun to play with. “I’m just happy for him. All the boys love him so much, seeing him have success like this has been awesome.”

Up Next

The Sens return to action at 7 p.m. on Thursday night against the Bruins. The game marks Hockey Fight Cancer night at Canadian Tire Centre, as fans help raise funds for oncology care in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.

Visit the Senators website: www.ottawasenators.com

Engage with the Senators on X: @Senators

Like the Senators on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ottawasenators

Follow the Senators on Instagram: senators