Senators lose Foegele and Burakovsky for up to a month

Ottawa is 8-5-1 and finally looks like a team that could stay in the playoff race, so naturally 2 wingers went down in 3 days.

Bruce Garrioch

@SunGarrioch

Senators lose Warren Foegele, Andre Burakovsky injuries for up to a month with injuries Ottawa Citizen t.co/JhrX2burru via @ottawacitizen

Here's how it happened. Foegele got caught in a knee-on-knee collision Tuesday against Vegas. Burakovsky went down Thursday in the 6-5 overtime loss to the Kings and never came back after the middle of the 2nd period. Travis Green confirmed both timelines Saturday: 3 to 4 weeks each, both lower-body. Do the math and you're looking at late November before either one plays again.

Neither guy was carrying the offense, but losing them still hurts. Foegele, in his 2nd season in Ottawa, had 1 goal and 4 points through 13 games. That's nothing special, but he's the kind of middle-six winger who plays hard minutes and makes the lines below him work. Burakovsky came over from Chicago for a 6th-round pick and hadn't scored a point in 8 games. A cheap depth bet that hadn't paid off yet is still a body, though, and Ottawa just lost 2 of them at once.

So Green started juggling, and the Sharks game showed what that looks like.

Bruce Garrioch

@SunGarrioch

Cozens on the right side of Stutzle to start this one. Greig in the middle of the third line #Sens

Ottawa Senators

@Senators

New look lines this afternoon 💪 #GoSensGo t.co/T8uPXWc4eL

Putting Dylan Cozens on Stutzle's right side is the move that matters. Cozens is a natural center with size and a real shot, and putting him next to Ottawa's best playmaker is how you try to cover for missing depth scoring: stack the top of the lineup and hope it carries the rest. Ridly Greig moving into the 3rd-line middle means that group now gets a center who plays with a chip on his shoulder and drives everybody nuts. That could be fun, or it could put Greig in the penalty box. Probably both.

Even with 2 forwards out, one young name still isn't in the lineup.

Bruce Garrioch

@SunGarrioch

Yakemchuk a scratch for the second straight game #Sens

Carter Yakemchuk sitting for a 2nd straight night is the subplot to watch. He's a defenseman, so the forward injuries don't open a spot for him. Still, 2 scratches in a row tells you the coaching staff wants more from him before he plays again. What happens next is simple: the GM has reportedly been shopping for offense already, and 2 forwards out for most of November should push him to do something. If Cozens and Stutzle click, Ottawa can wait. If they don't, expect a trade before Foegele and Burakovsky are back.