Gudbranson says his hit against Habs' Evans was `big,' but clean
Erik Gudbranson wasn't trying to hurt anybody.
He was just finishing his check. While the NHL's department of player safety didn't even reach out to the Ottawa Senators defenceman after his hit on Jake Evans during their 2-1 loss at home Saturday to the Montreal Canadiens, Gudbranson made it clear Sunday he wasn't targeting Evans' head.
“I thought it was a clean hit,” Gudbranson said after the Senators' skate Sunday. “For me, as a bigger body in the NHL, I've been in situations like that a lot as a physical guy. I really tried to get as low as I possibly could to go through the sternum, and I'm always trying to do that.
“You'll notice that if I'm throwing a hit and I don't think it's right, I'll bail out of it, and I'll try desperately to bail out of a bad decision. I thought I got him with the body first. It's a big hit. I can understand what (the Canadiens) are saying.”
STATUS TO BE DETERMINED
Defenceman Christian Wolanin was a full participant in practice Sunday, but it's doubtful he'll play tonight against the Edmonton Oilers in the first of two back-to-back games.
Wolanin is closing in on returning but doesn't have the medical clearance quite yet, and it appears he'll miss his fifth straight game. To activate Wolanin, the Senators will have to make a roster move, which means somebody could be placed on waivers today if the organization believes he'll be ready to play Tuesday.
“All I can say is I'm feeling better and it's been getting better every day,” Wolanin said.
He played only 7:35 in the Senators' game against the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 25 at Rogers Arena and has missed five straight games.
That was tough blow for Wolanin, 25, because he had settled into the lineup quite nicely after being a healthy scratch early in the season.
Wolanin looked like he had found his comfort zone, and coach D.J. Smith told him he was impressed with his play.
“I was really, really close and that's something I keep trying to remind myself of,” Wolanin said. “There's going to be growing pains and there's going to be tough times, but I knew that I wasn't my best in that (first) game, and I was starting to feel it in every game after that.
“I understand the criticism and self-criticism of where my game's at (to start), but it's been a long time since I got back into (the lineup) and I've got a lot of faith that I will get it back.”
TOUGH TEST AHEAD
We all know what happened the last time the Senators faced the Oilers, last week in Edmonton.
Not only did the Senators drop both games by scores of 8-5 and 4-2, all-star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl piled up 13 points between them. The Senators need to do a better job shutting them down tonight and Tuesday to have any chance at success.
“We've got to score,” Smith said. “We're getting lots of chances but we're not scoring. We're in the middle of the pack in the division in chances for, but we're not converting them. We can ask for bounces or whatever, but we've got to bear down on them.
“And they've got two of the top goal-scorers in the league, and we've seen what they can do every night. We have to be cognizant when they're on the ice. We just have to play as a team. When we play four lines and we play fast, we can play with anybody.”
GET DADDY GOING
Nobody has an issue with Evgenii Dadonov's effort, but he has to start putting the puck in the net.
The veteran winger, signed in the off-season to a three-year deal as an unrestricted free agent, has one goal and three points in 12 games this season.
That's not good enough for a guy who had 82 goals over his past three NHL seasons with the Florida Panthers, and it's imperative that changes.
Smith moved him on a line with Josh Norris and Brady Tkachuk to see if that would ignite the offence.
“It's been a tough start for me,” Dadonov said. “I know what I have to do and where I have to get better. The good thing is I have the chances, but I've got to be more hungry to finish them.”
THE LAST WORDS
Alternate captain Thomas Chabot and centre Derek Stepan weren't on the ice Sunday, but Smith noted both would play against the Oilers. … Expect goaltender Matt Murray to make his third straight start. … The hope is Belleville will open its AHL schedule next weekend against the Laval Rocket in Montreal. With the province in lockdown as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, the AHL may not play in Ontario until early March. … Former Senators goaltender Craig Anderson made his debut with the Washington Capitals on Sunday in their 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was the first time he'd played since he finished last season with the Senators on March 11 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The 39-year-old Anderson, who spent a decade with the Senators, allowed two goals on eight shots. He took over in the second period from starter Vitek Vanecek. “Sometimes you make a change to try to shake up the momentum of the team,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. … Since the Oilers never got to Ottawa last season due to the pandemic, which wiped out the Senators' final 11 games, it's been 711 days since Edmonton last played at Canadian Tire Centre.