The Ottawa Senators are on fire, picking up a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.
The Sens are now 5-1 on the season, which is their best start in nearly two decades — but their latest victory was soured by a tough injury to Nikolas Matinpalo.
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The defenseman didn't make it through the first period before being forced out of the game after a dirty hit along the boards.
Nikolas Matinpalo Injury Update
Matinpalo was working to win the puck near the benches when Devils forward Anthony Mantha hit him from behind.
The Senators defenseman fell head-first into the boards.
Mantha got a five-minute major penalty for the hit.
Ottawa officially announced it as an upper-body injury, but after the game, their head coach Travis Green alluded to it being a head injury, as it appeared to be.
"It's pretty obvious what the injury is," Green told reporters, via the Ottawa Citizen
. "We'll have to wait and see how he is tomorrow."
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Matinpalo is a reliable defenseman for the Senators. He has played in all six games so far this season. Before Monday's game, he was averaging 17 minutes and 45 seconds of ice time per game.
He isn't a key offensive contributor, having yet to notch a point this season.
A native of Finland, this had been shaping up to be one of Matinpalo's most consistent seasons as far as opportunity at the NHL level.
Senators Injury Problems
The Senators are already shorthanded on the blue line.
Artem Zub hasn't yet played this season due to injury, although the Ottawa Citizen suggests he's close to making his return.
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The Sens also lost veteran Jake Sanderson to injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the season opener, and he hasn't played since.
According to the Citizen, the Senators have Jorian Donovan ready to make his season debut against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday if Zub can't play yet.
Veteran goalie Linus Ullmark told the Citizen after Monday's game: "We probably need to sage our dressing room a bit to keep the D's healthy."
As mentioned above the Senators don't get a break. They head straight into another game on the NHL's full schedule on Tuesday when they take on the Blues.
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They'll need two things to happen — their healthy defensemen to stay healthy, and also that blue line unit that is lacking depth and its top talent to step up anyway and keep St. Louis in check.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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