Derick Brassard to open season with Senators on Thursday
Veteran NHL centre spent 4 months recovering from right shoulder surgery
For a change, the Ottawa Senators received good news on the injury front.
Centre Derick Brassard will be in Thursday's season-opening lineup when the Senators host Washington at 7:30 p.m. ET, four months after right shoulder surgery.
The 30-year-old Brassard, who didn't appear in a pre-season game, was expected to be sidelined four to five months after tearing the labrum in his shoulder in Ottawa's loss to Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference final in May.
Brassard endured a disappointing 2016-17 season, scoring 14 goals and 39 points in 81 regular-season contests with the Senators, who acquired the native of Gatineau, Que., on July 18, 2016 from the New York Rangers in a deal for fellow forward Mika Zibanejad.
Brassard, who had 58 points and 60 points in each of the two previous campaigns with New York, did unleash a career-high 195 shots on goal last season and is expected to centre Ottawa's second scoring line.
However, Senators head coach Guy Boucher is expected to ease the 10-year NHL pivot into the lineup, gradually increasing his ice time.
"I'm not going to be playing 18 minutes right away," Brassard, who added 11 points in 19 games in last year's Stanley Cup playoffs, told reporters last week. "[At the start], my role is going to be a little different, trying to find my timing."
Karlsson ruled out for opener
On Wednesday, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion ruled out Erik Karlsson for the season opener following off-season ankle surgery but the all-star defenceman appears close to a return.
Rookie forward Colin White (broken left wrist) also won't play. He suited up for two games late last season after signing an entry-level contract.
Centre Logan Brown, whom the Senators drafted 11th overall in June, will take White's roster spot while 18-year-old winger Alex Formenton also broke camp with the NHL club, but will be a healthy scratch Thursday.
Considered the surprise of the pre-season for Ottawa, the 2017 second-round pick scored 16 goals and 34 points in 65 games last season for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.