Goalie Murray to be `pushed hard' before return to net, coach says
There's still no word on when Ottawa Senators No. 1 goaltender Matt Murray could return to the lineup from his upper body injury, but he was on the ice with goaltending coach Pierre Groulx in Toronto on Monday afternoon.
“He will get pushed hard,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said during his Zoom media conference call in the morning. “Afterwards, we'll see where he's at.”
Murray was originally hurt following a collision with defenceman Nikita Zaitsev during last Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Ever since, it has been a game of musical chairs on the goaltending depth chart behind Marcus Hogberg, who started his second straight game Monday.
Joey Daccord, who played in the Belleville Senators' season opening 5-1 loss to the Laval Rocket on Friday, served as Hogberg's backup. Filip Gustavsson, who was on the bench during Saturday's 2-1 victory over Winnipeg, has since been moved back to the taxi squad. WHAT ABOUT DACCORD? It has been a fast climb up the ladder for Daccord, who began last season with Brampton in the ECHL and went 15-6-2, with a 2.61 goals-against average and .915 save percentage with Belleville.
“He's extremely well conditioned,” Smith said of Daccord. “He's got confidence. He's a guy that is eventually going to get his opportunity, whether it's now or in the future. He's expected to be the goalie of the future, but if it requires him to go in now, I have no issue.”
Daccord was originally drafted in the seventh round, 199th overall, by the Senators in 2015.
BRANNSTROM WATCH: There could be an intriguing lineup decision on the horizon for the Senators, with defenceman Erik Brannstrom on the cusp of coming off the injured reserve list.
When Brannstrom is ready to go, possibly as early as Wednesday, who comes out to make room for him? Brannstrom typically plays on the left side, which means the choice would likely be between Christian Wolanin and Mike Reilly.
Before facing the Maple Leafs, Reilly had looked more solid lately on a pairing with the composed Artem Zub.
“He's got experience under his belt,” Artem Anisimov said of Zub. “He has played in the KHL, in the Olympics and the world championships. His transition to the NHL is a little bit quicker than most guys because he has that experience.”
Anisimov, who had been a healthy scratch since the sixth game of the season, returned to the lineup as a left winger (he's typically a centre) when Cedric Paquette and Alex Galchenyuk were traded Saturday to Carolina for Ryan Dzingel.
THE DADDY INFLUENCE: Nick Paul gives Evgenii Dadonov plenty of credit for the confidence and chemistry that has developed on their line with Colin White. If Dadonov, 31, has advice, the other two are all ears.
“We told him, anything you have on where we should be or how we should play, we're not going to take offence. Colin's got a thick skin. I've got a thick skin. The biggest thing is open communication on our line and getting better and better as games go on, in finding spots where we're comfortable.”
While Paul is technically the left winger, he takes most of the faceoff draws on the right side. He's the Senators' most successful in draws, winning 56.8 per cent before Monday's game against Toronto, including 64.3 in the offensive zone.