As the Ottawa Senators get set to host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre, Wednesday morning’s practice delivered a mix of interesting injury news.

On the positive side, defenseman Thomas Chabot was back on the ice with his teammates. Chabot was injured on November 11 in a game against the Dallas Stars, attempted a return 11 days later, and re-injured himself against the San Jose Sharks.

He hasn’t played since the Sharks game, but his return to full practice is an encouraging sign. Chabot was paired with Belleville call-up Dennis Gilbert during drills, suggesting the Senators are still preparing to play without him for now. But simply being back on the ice is a step toward getting the blue line back to full strength and players slotted into their natural roles.

"I mean, it's been a long road," Chabot admitted. "But no, it's good to be back practicing with the guys. Helps the mental side of things and the morale a little bit to be back on the same schedule as the team. It was a fun day, it was a great practice. I went through the pace of a normal NHL practice, the contact, and competing a little bit. So it felt nice to be out there.

While Chabot said he didn't know if he'd be playing on Thursday, head coach Travis Green confirmed that he will not.

Green provided some more details on Lars Eller, revealing that he has a broken foot from blocking a shot and is expected to be sidelined for about three weeks. So that probably means that centre Stephen Halliday will remain with the club into the new year.

There was also a brief scare in practice at the goaltender position. Linus Ullmark left practice early after speaking with the Senators’ athletic therapist, Dom Nicoletta, near the bench. Jake Sanderson also exited early, although Green (as he does) downplayed any concern, saying he isn’t worried about either Ullmark or Sanderson.

Since Chabot was injured, Green has been working Sanderson like a rented mule, so it wouldn't be a surprise if the Sens' top defenseman has carte blanche to bail on any practice if he isn't feeling it that day.

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Ullmark has started in three-quarters of the club's games so far, but hasn't been injured or overworked in a back-to-back. At the moment, he stands 41st in the NHL in goals against average (3.00) and 49th in save percentage (.879). If he's suddenly not feeling his best, that doesn't bode well for an imminent turnaround.

Finally, there has apparently been some progress on Shane Pinto’s recovery from a lower-body injury. Pinto has been out since December 4th after taking a body check from former Ottawa Senator Mika Zibanejad. Green says Pinto has now resumed skating, another encouraging development as the Senators work through their injury picture.

Following their Wednesday skate, the Senators held their annual 'Melnyk Skate for Kids' hosted by team co-owners Anna and Olivia Melnyk, carrying on a tradition started 20 years ago by their late father, former Sens owner Eugene Melnyk.

The Senators will host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at the CTC.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

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