The Ottawa Senators placed defenseman Dylan DeMelo on injured reserve today. DeMelo missed Sunday’s game against the Boston Bruins, a 2-1 overtime loss. It is unclear when he suffered this injury. However, he did play in Ottawa’s 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night. DeMelo logged over 18 minutes in that game. Due to this, and the Duchene injury, Ottawa has made a pair of call-ups. Stefan Elliott and Paul Carey have been recalled from Belleville.
NHL → IR
Dylan DeMelo (D) | Ottawa Senators#GoSensGohttps://t.co/DkuVI7IvDo— CapFriendly Transactions (@CF_Transactions) December 10, 2018
Roster update: #Sens recall defenceman Stefan Elliott and forward Paul Carey from @BellevilleSens.
Mise à jour alignement : Les #Sens rappellent le défenseur Stefan Elliott et l’attaquant Paul Carey des @BellevilleSens.
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 10, 2018
Dylan DeMelo Big Loss For Senators
Dylan DeMelo’s absence will cause problems for the Senators down the stretch. DeMelo has been one of their better players this season. He was acquired in the Erik Karlsson trade this summer and has shown good early returns for Ottawa. DeMelo has played just under 19 minutes on average this season with Ottawa. He has 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points in 30 games.
However, it is his defensive game that will be missed. DeMelo has been one of the more reliable Sens with the puck this season. Never super flashy, he always has found a way to make the right play. His missed time on ice will fall on many Sens D to make up. However, expect to see a boost in Thomas Chabot, Cody Ceci, Ben Harpur and maybe Maxime Lajoie‘s minutes. But, those will likely be the big four for the time being.
DeMelo also has the 2nd best Corsi For Percentage of the Sens Defensemen. Although it is only at 45.93, he is much ahead of teammates like Ceci, Harpur and Lajoie in the shot attempt differentials. The Sens will be in tough without DeMelo, however, will have to find a way to push through it. Ottawa starts a 3 game road trip Tuesday.
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