Ottawa Senators Winger Absent From Road Trip For Personal Reasons

TSN 1200 is reporting from Utah that, according to Ottawa Senators' head coach Travis Green, winger David Perron is away from the team for personal reasons.

Although he has been held pointless through the team's first five games, Perron has done a good job of sustaining pressure in the offensive end and generating shots through his willingness to go to the dirty areas of the ice.

Perron leads all Senators players in some key five-on-five stats. According to NaturalStatTrick's five-on-five data, Perron leads the team in individual shots per 60, scoring chances per 60 and individual expected goals per 60. These rates have not led to actual production yet, but if he can continue to post those rates, it is only a matter of time before the puck starts finding some twine.

For the first time since sustaining an undisclosed upper-body injury against the Montreal Canadiens on October 12th, Ridly Greig returned to practice with the team today in Utah. The winger filled Perron's spot alongside Noah Gregor and Shane Pinto on the third line.

Other News and Notes:

• Matthew Highmore has been cleared medically. The Senators placed him on waivers today for the purpose of returning him to Belleville.

• Shane Pinto raised some eyebrows at practice today when he left the skate without there being a collision or any visible sign of injury. TSN 1200 talked to Travis Green and reported that he "should be fine to play tomorrow despite leaving practice early today."

• Tomas Hamara did not play in any of Belleville's first four regular season games. On a relatively strong AHL squad, balancing individual development with the team's competitiveness is always a concern, so the Senators returned the prospect to his junior team, the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs. Brantford has been a strong team in the early going, as they have the Eastern Conference's second-best record (5-3-1).

The Senators will face the Utah Hockey Club for the first time tomorrow night (Oct. 22). The face-off is at 9:15 pm EDT (TSN5, RDSI).

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