After Lars Eller Injury, Senators Recall Belleville Forward To Finish Road Trip

The Ottawa Senators moved quickly to address their growing injury concerns at forward.

Sens head coach Travis Green announced on Friday that Lars Eller will "be out for a little while" with a lower-body injury. So on Saturday morning, the club bolstered their roster for games in Minnesota (Saturday) and Winnipeg (Monday) by calling up winger Olle Lycksell from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. 

Eller was apparently hurt while blocking a shot in Columbus on Thursday night during a 6–3 victory over the Blue Jackets. 

“Yeah, Lars is going to unfortunately be out for a little while,” Green told Senators host Jackson Starr. “Blocked a shot. Not sure quite exactly how long, but we won’t see him the rest of this road trip for sure.”

The 26-year-old Lycksell has been a man in motion this season. This is his third call-up to Ottawa from the B-Sens. As a point-per-game player with Lehigh Valley last season, the guy is a proven AHL scorer, but he has yet to find traction at the NHL level.

With Drake Batherson injured in the preseason, Lycksell won a spot in Ottawa's opening night lineup. In all, he's played in six games and scored his first goal with the club on October 23rd, a game-winner against his old team, the Philadelphia Flyers.

In Belleville, Lycksell has four points in four games in December and six points in nine games overall. He's spent a good chunk of his season as a reserve player

Eller's spot as a fourth-line centre is likely to be taken by Stephen Halliday for now, but they could also use Nick Cousins in that spot as well. So that leaves either Lycksell or Kurtis MacDermid as the 12th forward option for the next couple of games.

As Ottawa continues its three-game road trip with a stop in Minnesota on Saturday, Belleville remains home this weekend to face the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday night and the Bridgeport Islanders on Sunday afternoon.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa

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