Wednesday, March 29, 2006

The Thinning blue line in Bytown

It's not the time of year that you want the injury bug to bite, but for the Ottawa Senators March is going out like a lion. The latest of the Senators wounded is blue chip blue liner Chris Phillips, suffering a knee injury that will keep him out of the line up for at least 3 and maybe more weeks.

Phillips joins fellow blue line defenders Zdeno Chara and Anton Volchenkov in the whirlpool as Bryan Murray tries to cobble together a defensive corps to hold the line until everyone is healthy again.

The Sens cruised through the season for the most part with only Martin Havlat on the injured list up until the Olympic break, but since then it's been a red cross ward at times in the Sens dressing room.

Goaltender Dominik Hasek is apparently almost ready to skate with his equipment on, a sign that he may be preparing to test out his groin and see if he'll be able to contribute to the playoff action in three weeks time.

Information on Chara is not as easily available, with just a generic thought that he'll be ready sooner than later. His absence is perhaps the most damaging of the list, a solid blue line force his ability to clear out the front of the net has been missing in the Sens last few games.

Volchenkov may return to the line up as early as tomorrow night and injured winger Mike Fisher is also listed as a possible returnee shortly.

Murray is no doubt hoping that the injury parade of March won't sidetrack a possible Stanley Cup parade in June!

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