The Ottawa Senators have lost another key player to injury.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.
This time, it’s defenseman Marc Methot, who limped off the ice during Ottawa’s 5-3 win over the Islanders on Tuesday following a big hit from Brad Boyes -- and wasn’t at Sens practice on Wednesday.
Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen reports Methot suffered an “apparent right leg injury” on the play, though the Senators were describing it as a lower-body injury following the game, without and specifics as to severity.
Normally we’d say losing Methot would be a crushing blow for the Sens -- he averages 23:09 per game and leads all defensemen in hits -- but the team has shown remarkable resilience following the loss of key players this season.
Methot’s defensive partner, Erik Karlsson, is gone for the year after suffering a lacerated Achilles.
Starting goalie Craig Anderson (ankle) hasn’t played since Feb. 21.
Last year’s leading scorer, Jason Spezza, has missed 25 games and last year’s leading goalscorer, Milan Michalek, has missed 15 with a knee problem (and will be out another month after undergoing surgery.)
Despite all this, the Sens are 16-8-6 this year, sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, and are just five points back of Montreal for top spot in the Northeast Division.
As for Methot’s injury?
The Sens are going to take a wait-and-see approach.
“We’re going to take our time and evaluate the injury and we’ll have a time frame in further notice,” head coach Paul MacLean told the Ottawa Sun. “Leadership is character. Coming back in this league isn’t easy, but we find a way to do it.”
