The Ottawa Senators’ roster has a lot of moving pieces as Joonas Korpisalo misses his second straight game.
Korpisalo, who did not suit up for the championship game in Sweden, is expected to be ready to play on Monday against the Florida Panthers.
Goalie Joonas Korpisalo was nowhere to be seen on Friday night as the Ottawa Senators got ready to resume their six-day vacation.
He’s day-to-day,” coach D.J. Smith told reporters before the Senators hosted the New York Islanders at the Canadian Tire Centre. “He’s a little sore so there’s no point in having him back up.
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We wouldn’t want to put him in that spot.”
That meant backup Anton Forsberg, coming off a 24-save effort in the club’s 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild last Saturday to wrap up the NHL’s Global Series in Stockholm, made the start as the Senators returned home for the first time since a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames Nov. 11.
The hope is Korpisalo, who didn’t dress for the final game in Sweden, will be ready to play Monday against the Florida Panthers, but the club has recalled Mads Sogaard from its AHL affiliate in Belleville in the interim and we’ll see where this situation goes in the coming days.
Is Korpisalo going to miss Monday too?
“I’m not sure about it. The trainers will decide that, according to Smith. “I think he’ll be OK, but it’s the same as when we were in Sweden—we won’t play him or any other player in a position where they aren’t fully recovered.”
Given that the Senators employed seven goaltenders in the previous season, Korpisalo’s injury is understandably concerning, but there’s no reason to become alarmed. Something is bugging him because he skated on Tuesday, went to the rink for the optional session on Monday, and left the club’s practice on Thursday midway through.
The Senators will have to hope that Korpisalo is healthy for the team’s trip to Columbus on Friday if he doesn’t play against the Panthers on Monday.
It’s terrible because the Senators have a packed schedule with 15 games scheduled in December and are slowly but surely getting some of their injured players back in the next week to ten days.
Defenceman Thomas Chabot, who missed his ninth straight game Friday with a broken right hand he suffered against the Isles on Oct. 26, is continuing to skate with a non-contact jersey, is eligible to play Dec. 1 against Blue Jackets and is trending in that direction.
Forwards Ridly Greig and Mark Kastelic, who both suffered high ankle sprains Nov. 2 against the Los Angeles Kings, are also closing in on a return. They are skating on their own and are around the rink, but the hope is they’ll be able to return practising with the Senators soon.
But once Chabot comes off long-term injury reserve his $8 million salary cap hit kicks back in, Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations, could face his first major roster decision since taking over the role as interim general manager after Pierre Dorion was shown the door Nov. 1.
