Senators News & Rumors: Tkachuk, Stutzle, Chabot & Greig – Hockey Writers – Ottawa Senators

Welcome back to another edition of Ottawa Senators News & Rumors. In this installment, we'll look at the outcome of the October 1 preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens. Things got out of hand throughout the game, and the Senators ended up with Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and Thomas Chabot who left the game injured and did not return. We'll also take a look at Ridly Greig's impact on the game, and how it will lead into the regular season.

Stutzle Gets a Headshot from Arber Xhekaj

The camera angles on the actual play weren't great, but based on what's available, it's unclear how much Arber Xhekaj's elbow made contact with Stutzle's head on the play.

In the second half of the game, after things were already dicey, Xhekaj made an attempt to collide and raised his elbow in a “chicken wing” style. Stutzle immediately fell to the ice and while he quickly got up, there was a lot of attention focused on his nose.

Some angles seem to show Stutzle's stick hitting him, while others show him touching his elbow. No one clearly indicates what caused the injury, but regardless, it was a cheap shot by Xhekaj in a clear attempt to injure.

Tkachuk Stands For Stutzle, Gets Injured

Immediately after Xhekaj's hit on Stutzle, captain Tkachuk did what everyone expected and dropped the gloves on Xhekaj. It wasn't a heated fight, and neither player landed good punches as Xhekaj went to the ice very quickly, but Tkachuk ended up leaving the game injured and never returned.

There will always be battles with Tkachuk's play, and this is a situation where it's okay for him to fight, but it also shows the exact reason why general manager Steve Staios went out and got players like David Perron, Nick. Cousins, and you have Zack MacEwen on the list. On top of that, training camp has been tough, as head coach Travis Green usually is.

Related: Jan Jenik Wezigele Lands Full-Time Role in Program

Tkachuk is a great player, and missing time due to injury in fights, even having him in the penalty box for five minutes, can be dangerous for the team.

And, this time, it made perfect sense for Tkachuk to fight, and while there haven't been any injury updates for Tkachuk, the hope is that it was just a caution and not a hand injury.

Chabot Leaves Game, Reasons Unknown

There were no specific plays that clearly caused injury to Chabot during the game, and it was announced by the Senators Communications account on X that he was gone and would not be returning. They clearly said it was a warning, and that could mean a million different things.

Chabot was prone to injuries, and after dealing with various injuries last season, the hope is that since the game was meaningless and getting out of hand, they take him out of the game so he doesn't push himself too much if anything. minor visible injuries.

All three departed players will be tested on Oct. 2, according to Green. Whether the news comes out quickly or not, all three injured players are not good news.

Ridly Greig's “Friendship” Tour

Ridly Greig appeared on many people's radars after an unknown empty gun led to Morgan Rielly checking him in the head. Since then, Greig has shown no signs of abating in his highly perplexing performance. Early in the preseason, he was scouted by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg, and it seemed like a clear goal for him.

Against the Canadiens, Greig didn't waste any time showing his tough game by setting up a goal for Kirby Dach, who has had a lot of injury problems recently. The hit was clean except for the late hit, but Dach ended up in the locker room only to return later in the game.

A few minutes later, Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble hit Greig with a near miss. Clean, hard, but late. Greig removed it and the exchange quickly became empty.

In the third period, Dach followed Greig around, with a few pushes and swings, ending with a heavy penalty. Coming out of the penalty box, Dach and Greig met again and this time they had a long battle. There weren't many hard punches, but the love in the fight was there.

Greig draws penalties, energizes the team, and plays well on both sides of the puck. There is not much he can do to contribute to the team.

While we await injury updates, final preseason cuts, and announcements from the team, be sure to check back for all the latest news and rumors surrounding the Senators.