OTTAWA -- Jake Sanderson left in the second period for the Ottawa Senators in a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.
Sanderson, Ottawa's top defenseman, was hit in the head by Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall at 4:24 of the second period. Hall was assessed a minor penalty for an illegal check on the play.
Sanderson played 13:19 prior to leaving the game, including two shifts after the hit by Hall. He also appeared to hurt his hand blocking a shot before heading down the tunnel.
Ottawa coach Travis Green confirmed postgame that the reason he left the game was due to the hit to the head from Hall.
“Not fun,” Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot said. “That's the biggest piece of our team, probably. So seeing him going down the tunnel is not good. He plays such big minutes the way he plays. ... There's no other Jake Sanderson, so it's a big loss for us, for sure, and hopefully he's doing good.”
Sanderson had two assists and was plus-2 in a game-high 43:06 in Ottawa's 3-2 loss in double overtime in Game 2 on Monday. He led Senators defensemen with 54 points (14 goals, 40 assists) in 67 regular-season games.
The Senators are already without defenseman Artem Zub, who sustained an undisclosed injury early in the second period of a 2-0 loss in Game 1 on Saturday after checking Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis. Zub also played on the top defense pair with Sanderson.
Defenseman Tyler Kleven returned to the lineup on Thursday after missing nine games with an upper-body injury.
The Senators trail the best-of-7 series 3-0. They will try to keep their season alive in Game 4 here on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TBS, truTV, FDSNSO, HBO MAX).
