ottawa senators are a different team without an injured thomas chabot
3 minute read
ottawa senators defenceman thomas chabot hits the ice during the team’s home opener.
tony caldwell
/
postmedia
absence makes the heart grow fonder.
that’s definitely the case for the ottawa senators and veteran blueliner thomas chabot.
yes, jake sanderson is the club’s best defenceman, but on a lot of nights the senators’ alternate captain is a minute-muncher on the back end, the straw that stirs the drink and a key element to the success the club has when it plays a strong defensive game.
as the senators embarked on a three-game trip on thursday night against the columbus blue jackets, the 28-year-old chabot didn’t accompany the club and won’t suit up anytime in the near future as he gets fully recovered from what is believed to be a core muscle injury.
“there’s not a big update,” ottawa coach travis green said before the club left on wednesday. “i don’t expect him to play on this trip.”
every precaution is being taken with chabot because he originally suffered this ailment on nov. 11 against the dallas stars. the original timetable for a return was three weeks, but chabot came back after missing only three games and suited up against the san jose sharks on nov. 22.
people will think the senators brought chabot back too early, but that’s not the case. he’s wired to play and he wants to compete. he felt good and he wanted to get back.
advertisement
chabot reinjured himself taking a shot late in the third period of the club’s 3-2 victory over the sharks. he played 21 minutes and 45 seconds against the sharks, which just shows how much he means to this team.
the way it happened was scary because chabot wasn’t near anybody, he pulled up lame trying to fire a shot and went back to the bench.
the first time he suffered the ailment, the senators made sure that he wasn’t going to need surgery. that was the case and it’s believed that this injury is similar to the one that kept drake batherson off the ice for three weeks to start the season after being hurt in training camp.
on dec. 4, green told reporters he was hopeful that chabot would play in the next 10 days or so. the hope now is he’ll be back before christmas. the expectation was that chabot would hit the ice sometime this week and he was likely kept behind in ottawa to work on his rehabilitation here.
if all goes well, maybe he gets into the lineup before the national hockey league’s mandated three-day holiday break starts on dec. 24. the senators face the pittsburgh penguins on dec. 18 at home and the chicago blackhawks on dec. 20.
the senators went into thursday’s visit to columbus with five losses in their past six games. they’ve struggled mightily to score at 5-on-5 and have had a difficult time keeping the puck out of their net. getting centre shane pinto back from a lower-body injury would also help.
advertisement
in a 4-3 loss to the new jersey devils on tuesday, the pairing of tyler kleven and jordan spence was disastrous. the issue with losing chabot is that it expands everybody’s role. the senators have depth on defence, but it is being tested big time.
since the ailment, sanderson has been carrying the load. chabot averages 21 minutes and 56 seconds of ice time per night. that ranks him second on the senators among defenders behind sanderson, who is eighth in the national hockey league at 25:04.
sanderson’s ice time is up a full minute since chabot initially was injured. green won’t let injuries be an excuse because the club has always adopted a “next man up” mentality. you have to fill the gap and move on, but the senators have won only four of the 11 games that chabot has missed.
chabot has developed a good chemistry with veteran nick jensen. he had his share of struggles after surgery, but the guy is reliable and they fit well together. jensen has been playing with nikolas matinpalo in the club’s third pairing.
chabot would be a top defenceman on a lot of teams in the league simply because of his skills and ability. legendary tsn colour analyst gord wilson told us recently that chabot “can be a one-man breakout” because of his smarts, his ability to move the puck and the way he skates.
advertisement
getting chabot back is a key to the club’s success. he can help stabilize the back-end, which has struggled at times.
the sooner he returns, the better it will be. but the senators will give chabot whatever time he needs because this is something they don’t want happening again or bothering him in the second half of the season.
share story
