Sportsnet.ca — A groin injury will keep Jason Spezza out of the line-up Thursday night when the Ottawa Senators host the Atlanta Thrashers.
Senators head coach John Paddock said there is no further update on his injury at this point in time. Spezza suffered the groin pull in practice on Tuesday and didn’t participate in a lengthy off-ice workout with his teammates following the skate. He also sat out Wednesday’s practice as a result.
Randy Robitaille will replace Spezza on the top line Thursday, playing in between Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson. While the Sens will be without Spezza, forward Dean McAmmond will make his season debut. He’s missed all 10 games this season while recovering from a concussion and shoulder injury suffered when Philadelphia Flyers forward Steve Downie ran him in pre-season. McAmmond will suit up on the fourth line with Shean Donovan and Christoph Schubert on his wings.
In 10 games this season, Spezza is second on the Senators in points with one goal and 12 assists.
Ottawa is seeking its second five-game winning streak of the season. The Senators have been doing it with defence, allowing six goals during their four consecutive wins and giving up an NHL-low 19 goals overall.
The Senators are hoping a four-day layoff following a 4-1 victory at New Jersey on Saturday doesn’t leave them rusty.
Forward Shean Donovan scored a goal for the second straight game Saturday after going pointless in the first eight, sparking the Senators’ three-goal third period by finding the back of the net with 13:20 left.
“This team’s got a lot of firepower,” Donovan said. “We need everybody pitching in, so it’s nice to help out. It would be nice to score more often.”
Martin Gerber made 31 saves to win his third straight game and improve to 17-1-2 with a 2.07 goals-against average in 20 games since Dec. 23. Gerber is 3-4-0 with a 3.50 GAA in nine appearances against Atlanta.
The Thrashers’ Johan Hedberg, filling in with Kari Lehtonen on injured reserve with a groin injury, has lost each of his last three games to Ottawa. He’s 3-5-0 with a 3.19 GAA in nine appearances against the Senators.
Alfredsson has 12 goals and 14 assists in 23 games versus the Thrashers, while Heatley has five goals and three assists in nine games against Atlanta.
Meanwhile, the Thrashers appear to be turning around their season behind increased production from their top offensive players – with one notable exception. Marian Hossa is on a five-game point drought heading into the game against his red-hot former team.
Hossa is one game shy of matching the longest point drought of his career, set when he played for the Senators from Jan. 14-26, 1999. He has just two goals and an assist in nine games this season following a career-high 100-point performance in 2006-07.
His lack of production, however, hasn’t hurt too much lately as fellow forwards Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov have powered Atlanta’s resurgence.
Kovalchuk has three goals and five assists, and Kozlov has four goals since general manager Don Waddell took over as coach after Bob Hartley was fired following an 0-6-0 start. The Thrashers have won two straight and four of six under Waddell.
“I think the biggest difference right now is we’re getting a good effort from everyone,” Waddell said. “Kozlov wasn’t scoring, Kovy wasn’t scoring the way he’s scoring right now, and it’s our big guys who are coming through for us. Marian Hossa’s still a little bit snakebitten. He had some great chances again. The last two games we can’t find the back of the net, but our veterans are doing a great job for us.”
Hossa may have a good chance to break out of his slump Thursday, as he’s produced against the Senators since they dealt him to the Thrashers for Dany Heatley on Aug. 23, 2005. Hossa has three goals and 12 assists in eight matchups with his former team, including 10 assists in the four meetings last season.
A groin injury forced Hossa to miss Atlanta’s 3-1 home loss to Ottawa on Oct. 10 in the teams’ first meeting of 2007-08.
Kozlov and Kovalchuk continued to carry their team Tuesday night, with Kozlov scoring in regulation and in a shootout, and Kovalchuk recording the decisive goal in the shootout as Atlanta defeated Montreal 3-2.
The Thrashers bounced back to win after allowing the tying goal to Chris Higgins with 1:58 left in regulation, improving them to 3-2 on their seven-game trip.
“It’s always great when you are winning,” said Kovalchuk, who has 13 goals and nine assists in 20 games against Ottawa. “It’s a long marathon of a trip. We need to stick together and play for each other, that’s the most important thing.”
