The Ottawa Senators will be without forward Tim Stutzle for a third straight game Saturday night after placing the 19-year-old rookie on injured reserve.
The team has characterized the undisclosed injury as minor, and the move to IR is retroactive to Jan. 16.
Stutzle, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft, practiced with the Senators on Friday and indicated he was close to rejoining the lineup.
“It was great being back on the ice,” he told the Ottawa Sun. “I felt good today and it was much better than the days off so we’ll see what’s going to happen. It was really bad at the beginning, but I think it’s getting better day by day. … It’s up to the trainers and the physiotherapists and everybody else. It’s their opinion if I’m ready to go.”
Stutzle skated in Ottawa’s first two games this season and scored his first NHL goal in the third period of a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 16.
A native of Germany, Stutzle said he sustained the injury during the recent World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton.
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–Field Level Media