Jake Sanderson won't return tonight in Toronto, and the Ottawa Senators lost him for the night in the very first game of their season.
Elliotte Friedman relayed the news from a Sportsnet colleague, saying Sanderson appeared to aggravate an injury in the first period.
The word "aggravate" matters. It suggests whatever happened tonight landed on something that was already bothering him.
That's a miserable way to open a season. The Senators already watched Brady Tkachuk leave for Florida, and now they're missing another big name in game one.
It's spraining an ankle on the first morning of a road trip. The car still has to get where it's going, with one less driver.
How long is he out? Nobody said, and "tonight" is the only timeline attached so far.
This was supposed to be Thomas Chabot's first regular-season night as captain.
Troubling Jake Sanderson injury update casts a shadow over Senators' opener
Chabot took the C from Tkachuk this week and carries an $8,000,000 cap hit through 2027-28.
Every one of his 569 regular-season games before tonight came in a Senators sweater.
Tkachuk, meanwhile, was in the middle of a heated night in San Jose on Thursday.
Jim Hiller's Leafs came in 1-1-0 after a 2-1 win over the Islanders, playing a third straight game at home.
Anthony Stolarz posted a .963 save percentage in that win, while William Nylander has two goals so far.
Auston Matthews is still looking for his first point, sitting at -2 through two games.
Darren Dreger has said the Leafs want help on the blue line, and Jake McCabe left their opener early before returning.
The Senators went 1-3-1 in the preseason, closing with a 4-3 win over Montreal.
They visit Boston on Monday and Detroit on Tuesday before their home opener against Philadelphia on October 8.
Losing Sanderson for that back-to-back would sting even more than losing him for one night.
Steve Staios and the Senators need an update before Boston. Until then, "appeared to aggravate an injury" is all anyone in Ottawa has to go on.
Should the Senators keep Jake Sanderson out of the Boston-Detroit back-to-back to be safe?
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