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A collision between Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators in Tuesday night's game has officially claimed a victim.
On Wednesday, as the team headed to Scotiabank Place for a team-optional skate around, Paul MacLean and the rest of the coaching staff released what many feared - a confirmation of the upper-body injury for Milan Michalek, listing his status indefinitely as day-to-day.
Unfortunately, that upper-body injury is a concussion. As we've learned with Sidney Crosby, David Perron, and Claude Giroux, placing a timetable on his return is a near-impossibility.
Said MacLean after Wednesday's optional skate
(h/t OS):
Right now we have to follow the concussion protocal so right now it’s day-to-day,” said coach Paul MacLean Wednesday morning as the Senators prepared to host the Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Place. “It’s based on as long as he’s sympton-free. He felt way better (Wednesday) so we’ll see how it goes.”
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Michalek had gotten off to a blazing start here in 2011-2012 as the league's leading goal-scorer, jumping over the likes of Phil Kessel and Steven Stamkos on Tuesday with his nineteenth tally of the season. The initial hit occurred late in the second period, and although Michalek skated two more shifts after the injury, he would eventually be pulled from the game and attended to by the medical staff in Ottawa.
Late Tuesday night, I had mentioned that Michalek's injury may not be as serious as anticipated, and it makes sense why. Hard to diagnose a concussion immediately after impact, and without any kind of sling or brace, the chance for a major 'UBI' was slimmer than usual.
But, head trauma appears to have claimed another victim.
He's obviously been ruled out of tonight's game, and don't expect him for at least the next couple of weeks unless the situation reverses course. Remember, Daniel Alfredsson's already missed time this season with a concussion of his own, but he - allegedly - recovered pretty quickly from that gruesome hit by Wojtek Wolski.
For Ottawa, it's the absolute worst-case scenario - an offense that's clicked only due to the play of Milan Michalek and a handful of others. With Michalek sidelined, Ottawa's lost roughly 20% of their scoring output for the season.
Gameday
If the Milan Michalek news isn't souring enough, consider the rest of the details coming through on this Wednesday morning. Not only do the defending Stanley Cup champions roll into town, but they're bringing the Grim Reaper with them in the form of Tim Thomas.
Ottawa's issues against Thomas are well documented - 20-8-2 record, .936 save percentage, and a 1.95 GAA. It's expected he'll get the start with Tuukka Rask having played on Tuesday night v. Los Angeles.
The Senators are expected to counter with Craig Anderson, who arguably had one of his better performances of the season against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. After a slow start, Anderson's starting to feel his game more and more, and hopefully that heater continues. His numbers career v. Boston: 3-6-0 record, .909 save percentage, and a 3.20 GAA.
With the aforementioned Michalek out of the lineup, Paul MacLean's going to have to seriously juggle the lines in order to find some chemistry up top. Expect Bobby Butler, he of the press-boxed variety just one game ago, to find an expanded role in 9MM's absence.
Filip Kuba and Sergei Gonchar are still out of the lineup, meaning that Jared Cowen and Erik Karlsson will continue to log serious minutes.
To keep with this gameday blog where I just pile on bad news with reckless abandon, I'll also mention that Zdeno Chara has made the trip to Ottawa. He isn't expected to play, but is officially a gametime decision as per the Boston coaching staff.
One certain scratch for Boston - Gregory Campbell. He's still recovering from a cracked bone in his foot.
As stacked as the odds seem against the Ottawa Senators, it's still crucial that this team come out and battle for sixty minutes against a superior opponent. Like it or not, Ottawa's in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, and they simply can't take regulation losses with continuity. Right now, Boston sits second in the Eastern Conference with 39 points (19-9-1), and Ottawa sits T-10th with 32 points (14-13-3), just one point back of 7th place Buffalo.
Puck drops at 7:30 PM ET on SNET.
Line combinations to follow
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