Stone absence is particularly troubling given the right winger was in the midst of a breakout season leading the team in both goals (19) and points (44) but Sens head coach Guy Boucher said that his star forward won't be out of the mix for long.
"It's not long-term," shared the coach this morning. "The minute he can play, he will. He's certainly not one of those guys who bails out so he really couldn't do it tonight but he tried."
Stone suffered a lower-body injury on Saturday against the Maple Leafs and actually exited the game on a few occasions to be evaluated before returning to action.
"A lot of guys wouldn't have finished the game," said Boucher. "He's got such character and he wants to have success and he didn't want to bail out in a game against Toronto so he stayed and actually contributed but it was hurting him big time."
Oduya's injury looks to be a bit more serious as the coach labeled his defender as "week-to-week" when addressing the media after the team's morning skate. Stone and Oduya join Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Nate Thompson on the sidelines for Ottawa in what has been an injury-plagued season for the Senators.
"We've had this from day one," Boucher said about the rash of injuries. "It's one of those ridiculous years where it's one thing after another and we've been dealing with it and have to continue to deal with it."
Fredrik Claesson, who has been a healthy scratch since the bye week, will return in place of Oduya tonight and is expected to play alongside Mark Borowiecki. According to the coach, here's how the defence pairings will look against the Wild:
Chabot - Karlsson
Phaneuf - Ceci
Borowiecki - Claesson
Up front, it's a bit more of a guessing game as Stone's absence creates a pretty big hole in the top 6. Chris DiDomenico was recalled from Belleville this morning and is one candidate to take Stone's place (along with recent AHL recalls Colin White and Filip Chlapik as well as perennial tweener Zack Smith) but it appears that a larger shuffle may occur with Bobby Ryan potentially moving onto the right side with Derick Brassard and Ryan Dzingel. Stay tuned and expect to see a variety of combinations to start the game as the coach looks for a spark.
