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DJ Smith has an enigma as this road trip continues in the Windy City.
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In this case, it’s a good problem for the Ottawa Senators coach.
As the Senators prepare to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night at the United Center, Smith will have to sit down with goalkeeping coach Zac Bierk to determine whether the club will go with veteran Matt Murray, the endorsement of Anton Forsberg, or Filip Gustavsson in Game 2 of this three-game road trip.
Don’t rule out the possibility that Murray will face his former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Marc-André Fleury in this one because Smith didn’t do it on Sunday. The duo spent part of two seasons together with the Penguins and won two Stanley Cups before Fleury was taken over by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
With Gustavsson coming off a standout 38 save effort in a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Friday, to begin this journey that will continue Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center, the automatic thought would be that Smith would stay with him against the Hawks.
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But with three goalkeepers available and back-to-back games, Smith dropped the chance of Murray starting while speaking to reporters in Chicago after skating Sunday at a suburban practice track.
“We’ll decide that (Monday morning),” Smith said when asked about his goalkeeper against the Hawks.
Smith noted after the club’s victory over the Stars that the Senators “are in the business of winning games” and that if a goalkeeper continued to win, he would play.
“We have a back-to-back, (Gustavsson) will play one of them and we will make that decision later,” Smith said.
Murray, 27, was placed on injured reserve last Saturday after sustaining a neck injury at the end of the club’s 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers. There were concerns that he could have a concussion after receiving a head knee from winger Chris Kreider late in the game.
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But, Murray returned to the ice on Wednesday and has been skating with his teammates ever since. If you’re ready, then it may make sense to start you on this so you can have normal game day prep. Senators will make the short flight to Minneapolis-St. Paul after the game and there will be no skating on Tuesday.
Before suffering the injury, Murray had been playing well. He stopped 22 of 23 shots against the Rangers before leaving the game with just over five minutes remaining. Murray is 0-1-0 this season with a .936 save percentage and a tight 1.60 GAA in his two appearances.
Sure, people will argue that Smith should go to Gustavsson, but it will depend on Bierk’s advice before making a decision. One way or another, the Senators have to get Murray back on the net and perhaps this game against the Hawks is the perfect opportunity for the club to do so.
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The goalkeeper who may be in a more difficult position is Forsberg. Heading into this trip, he probably had a good chance to play the Hawks, an organization he was a part of for two seasons, but Forsberg was brought down by Smith after allowing four goals on 16 shots against the Washington Capitals on Monday.
The senators weren’t very good defensively, but Forsberg didn’t make the necessary saves and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he didn’t see playing time on this trip. That doesn’t mean it should be changed either because, given the injury history with this organization’s goalkeepers, it’s good for the club to have depth.
NO NEED TO MOVE
If Murray leaves injured reserve, the club won’t have to make a roster move until Tuesday because the winger Austin Watson he’s not ready to come back from his ankle injury.
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Watson, 29, suffered the ailment in the club’s final preseason game and began skating with his teammates on Monday. Senators will likely feel better not to put him in a position where he’s playing back-to-back games, especially with a busy schedule this week.
If it were a playoff series, Smith’s decision might be different, but the staff wants to give Watson another day.
“He’s probably close to leaving,” Smith said. “He’s not going (Monday), but we’d love to have him against Minnesota.”
If Watson can come back, then the club has to send Gustavsson back to Belleville or put someone on waivers on Tuesday. The expectation is lateral Scott sabourin , who has played in only one game this season, will be under no obligation when Watson can return.
Smith said he wasn’t going to make any changes to his forwards or his defense, so Logan Shaw will remain on the wing at the fourth row with newcomer Dylan Gambrell and Zach Sanford. They did their job against the Stars by being reliable.
“The last game was a big jump because we won a lot of draws in the zone (defense) and we had some changes in the zone (defense),” Sanford said. “I thought we did a good job taking care of the record and we were able to get some opportunities out of it. That’s where it starts for us, focusing on the details and the defense and going from there.
Reference-ottawasun.com