Atlantic Notes: Ostapchuk, Zub, Laine, Slafkovský, Motte, Benson

11/04/2024 03:23 PM

The Senators papered Zack Ostapchuk back up to the active roster today after sending him down to AHL Belleville yesterday, per a team announcement.

Ottawa has now recalled the young center on three separate occasions this season. After initially cutting him from their roster on the final day of training camp, he’s been recalled thrice in the past week to serve as an injury fill-in while David Perron and Shane Pinto are out of the lineup.

Ostapchuk has served as the Sens’ third-line center between Noah Gregor and Michael Amadio and will do so again against the Sabres tomorrow, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. The 21-year-old went without a point in seven appearances last season but has managed to get on the scoresheet in 2024-25, recording his first career assist and a +1 rating while averaging 11:55 through three games.

While Ottawa will remain without Perron and Pinto for a while yet, they’re getting healthier on the back end. Defenseman Artem Zub will make his return from a concussion “sooner than later,” Garrioch said today. He’s been practicing with the team for the better part of the past week but will likely miss his ninth straight game Tuesday in Buffalo. He sustained the concussion in the Sens’ third game of the season against the Kings on a hit from L.A. winger Tanner Jeannot.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

• Canadiens winger Patrik Laine hasn’t yet debuted for the team after sustaining a knee injury in preseason, but his return timeline predicates he’ll hit the ice and return to regular-season action sometime next month. He’s still done enough throughout his career to put himself in consideration for a spot on Finland’s roster for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, general manager Jere Lehtinen told Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com. There’s a solid chance he won’t get to see game action before rosters for the tournament are due in early December, but leaving him off the roster would leave the already-underdog Finns without a dynamic offensive talent. Health has been a significant hurdle for Laine over the past few years, but his 0.91 points per game since the beginning of the 2021-22 season rank fourth among Finnish NHLers behind Mikko Rantanen, Aleksander Barkov and Sebastian Aho.
• Still with the Habs, winger Juraj Slafkovský practiced today after leaving Saturday’s loss to the Penguins late after a high hit from Pittsburgh forward Noel Acciari, relays Patrick Friolet of RDS. Slafkovský confirmed to reporters that he didn’t suffer a concussion on the play and will remain in the lineup against the Flames tomorrow, albeit in a slightly reduced second-line role alongside Jake Evans and Alex Newhook, while Kirby Dach takes his spot on the top-line alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Slafkovský, 20, already missed three games earlier this season with a shoulder injury. When in the lineup, he has a goal and seven assists in nine appearances.
• The Red Wings will have forward Tyler Motte available on Wednesday against the Blackhawks after he missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury, head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters today, including Ansar Khan of MLive.com. However, he may still be out of the lineup as a healthy scratch after Detroit escaped their division-rival Sabres with a 2-1 win over the weekend. Signed to a one-year, $800K deal on the second day of free agency, Motte did not have a point with a -2 rating in four appearances with Detroit before exiting the lineup.
• The Sabres may activate winger Zach Benson from injured reserve before tomorrow’s contest against the Sens, head coach Lindy Ruff told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. The 19-year-old has sat out the last five games with a lower-body injury he sustained in their Global Series games against the Devils that never wholly resolved. It showed in his performance, as he was held off the scoresheet and logged a -4 rating in six appearances when in the lineup for Buffalo last month.