The Ottawa Senators have been hit with a number of injuries this season, but have been lucky enough to have them spread out, rather than having many major pieces out at a time. The two key pieces the Senators are missing right now, Shane Pinto and Tyler Kleven, are nearing a return.
Pinto started the season as one of the hottest players, scoring eight goals in the first nine games of the season. He cooled off significantly since then, as expected, but he has still produced at a good rate and been a great two-way option, which is a huge factor in his huge $30 million extension.
Pinto left the Senators’ Dec. 4 game against the New York Rangers after taking a hit from Mika Zibanejad. He was originally given a timeline of “more than two weeks”, according to head coach Travis Green. After appearing in practice on Dec. 28, Green stated afterwards that both Pinto and Kleven could return for the Senators’ Dec. 29 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Kleven has been out since Dec. 20, when he suffered an apparent ankle injury. Having the holiday break in between means that he could only end up missing three games.
The Senators haven’t had their dominant trio of left-shot defensemen all together in quite a while. Thomas Chabot missed a lot of time, and Kleven left in the same game Chabot returned. They have been lucky to have Jake Sanderson leading the way for all 37 games of the season so far.
Over the 10 games without Pinto, the club had a 5-4-1 record, but outside of their four-game win streak in the middle of that stretch, things looked bleak.
Having Tim Stutzle and Dylan Cozens alongside Pinto as the center depth is huge. Ridly Greig had filled in Pinto’s role well, but Pinto is at another level when it comes to the impacts made every night.
