- William Eklund left the Senators’ home opener with a lower-body injury and did not return
- Flyers defenseman Simon Benoit finished the check that sent him to the room
- Read below for what Eklund’s absence means for Ottawa’s first line
The Senators lost William Eklund in their home opener.
The winger left Thursday’s game against the Flyers in the first period with a lower-body injury and Ottawa confirmed he would not return:
It happened just under eight minutes in, when Flyers defenseman Simon Benoit finished a check on Eklund along the boards, per Daily Faceoff. Eklund needed help getting off the ice and could not put any weight on the leg, according to HockeyFeed.
The team has not given a timeline or said what the injury is.
Eklund was skating on Ottawa’s first line with Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson. He had a goal and an assist through three games, and the Senators were 2-1-0 coming into the night.
Ottawa gave up the No. 9 pick in June to land him from San Jose. He is on a three-year deal at a $5.6 million cap hit and put up 58 points in 2024-25 and 53 last season.
The timing stings, since the Senators were already without Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub. Linus Ullmark only returned Thursday after his own scare earlier this week.
Ottawa hosts Nashville on Saturday, and the first line will look different unless the team gets good news on Eklund before then.
