Artem Zub makes his return as Senators face Dallas Stars

Goaltender Anton Forsberg is expected to make his return against the St. Louis Blues on Friday night

Published Jan 02, 2025  •  3 minute read

File photo/ Artem Zub of the Ottawa Senators looks onto the face-off during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Getty Images

Help has arrived for the Ottawa Senators.

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Defenceman Artem Zub, who missed 16 games with a broken foot, returned to the lineup on Thursday night as the club’s lengthy road trip continued against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Arena.

Zub was activated off the long-term injury reserve list on Thursday afternoon and was scheduled to play in the club’s third pairing with Tyler Kleven against the Stars.

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It’s the first time Zub has suited up since he broke the foot in November blocking a shot against the Vancouver Canucks.

“Everything is good,” Zub told TSN 1200’s Dean Brown after the club’s morning skate. “It’s my job (to block shots). I have to help the team. It’s good to get back to playing. I’ve been practicing a lot.”

Zub has been skating in Ottawa for the past few weeks while the club mostly has been on the road. He didn’t accompany the Senators to Winnipeg or Minnesota for the first leg of the trip but arrived in time for the Senators’ skate Monday in Dallas.

His arrival meant that Jacob Bernard-Docker was a healthy scratch for the second straight game along with rookie Niklas Matinpalo, who remained with the club on the road trip.

Getting Zub back is important for the Senators because he plays big minutes but coach Travis Green opted to ease him back. Veteran Travis Hamonic remained in the top pairing with Jake Sanderson.

“It’s great to have him back,” Green told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson before the game. “You always feel for a guy when he’s out and injured. He’s a big part of our team and it will be good have him back in the lineup.”

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Zub was able to get in two full practices with the Senators facing the Stars so that should have been helpful. The club will face the St. Loius Blues on Friday night so this will be a couple of tough back-to-back games.

This is the second time this season that Zub has missed a lengthy stretch of games. He was out for nine games after he suffered a concussion on Oct. 14 against the Los Angeles Kings.

“It’s awesome. He’s been gone for a while and we’ve missed him,” Sanderson said.

Having Zub back helps to stabilize the club’s depth by playing about 18 minutes per game.

But he wasn’t the only addition against the Stars.

Goaltender Anton Forsberg, who suffered what the club called a minor injury in the gym before a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 14 at the Canadian Tire Centre, dressed as the backup to rookie Leevi Merilainen in Dallas.

The expectation is Forsberg will face the Blues in the second game of this back-to-back on Friday. Goaltender Mads Sogaard, who wasn’t very good last Saturday in a 4-2 loss in Winnipeg, was sent back to the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville on Thursday.

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Forsberg has missed six games due to an undisclosed lower-body injury. He had been skating in Ottawa and left with the team for Winnipeg a week ago to prepare for his return.

The goaltending has also been under the microscope because the club is already with top netminder Linus Ullmark.

He hasn’t played since leaving 20 minutes into the first period of Ottawa’s 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 22. The Senators believed Ullmark would be prepared to face the Jets after a five-day break in the schedule, but that wasn’t the case.

That forced the organization to recall Sogaard, and it remains unclear when Ullmark might return to the net. He will miss his fourth straight game when the Senators face the Blues and we’ll have to see if he’s ready for next Tuesday’s visit to Detroit.

The last time Ullmark suffered a muscle strain, it started with the club describing it as a “maintenance day” initially. He ended up missing four straight games from Oct. 14 to Oct. 22 so the best-case scenario is that Ullmark resumes skating with the Senators this weekend.

That’s because Ullmark played a massive role in the club’s resurgence and return to the playoff race in the East.

Ullmark went into the game against the Oilers with an 8-0-1 record in his previous nine appearances, along with a 1.43 goals-against average and a .960 save percentage.

He had posted seven straight wins and Ullmark’s last loss was on Dec. 1 against the Anaheim Ducks in overtime. He hadn’t lost a regulation start since Nov. 23 against the Canucks.

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