The Ottawa Senators lose their top point-getter to injury. Drake Batherson went down with a lower-body injury in the game against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. As a result, he left the game and did not return.
Batherson will be out long term. DJ Smith says he won’t go to the all star game. It’s an an ankle injury. #Sens
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) January 26, 2022
Drake Batherson Injury Keeps Him Out Of Play
Batherson was chasing a puck into the offensive zone behind the net of Aaron Dell. As Dell played the puck to his teammate, he appeared to throw his elbow at Batherson. This hit Batherson, threw him off balance and caused him to slide violently into the boards. Consequently, he left the game with a lower-body injury. Dell did not receive a penalty for the play.
For Ottawa, this was the worst-case scenario. Batherson leads the team in points and assists and is second in goals. He is on pace to have his most productive season ever in only his fourth year in the league. He’s scored 12 goals and assisted on 21 to combine for 33 points in only 30 games. He averages about 2.5 shots on goal per game. In terms of advanced statistics, he’s sitting pretty with a 54.0% Corsi For percentage and a 12.4 relative Corsi. He’s only played for the Senators in his four years in the league. He’s played in 129 games, scored 35 times and assisted on 51, combining for 86 points.
Moving Forward For Ottawa
With Drake Batherson out with an injury, the Senators will look to other players to light the lamp. However, there’s a noticeable lack of consistent scorers on their team. Joshua Norris leads the team in goals with 18, and Brady Tkachuk has 12. But past them, the Senators do not have a player with 10 goals. They currently sit at 29th out of 32 teams in total goals scored.
The Senators are likely just looking past this season, all things considered. However, there needs to be some urgency for the Senators to start winning in the next few years.
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