Chabot Is Back. Burakovsky Is Not.

Thomas Chabot returned against the Kings on Thursday, which was the good news. Andre Burakovsky exited the same game with a lower-body injury, which was the rest of it. Ottawa got its captain back on the blue line and lost a forward in the same night.

The wing situation was already thin before Burakovsky went down. Jaxon Cover has been the nominal starter at left wing and has produced next to nothing. William Eklund is the one forward on that side who has actually been a factor. Warren Foegele was also out Thursday, per the injury report before the game. That's a lot of names unavailable or underperforming at a position Ottawa can't really afford to be short at.

On the right side, Philip Tomasino has been the starter but has been well below where you'd want a top-line right wing to be. Claude Giroux has been the more productive option there. The depth behind both of them is thin.

The Chabot return matters — he's the anchor of this defense and his absence the past week-plus was felt. But Ottawa's forward group is the thing to watch now. My read is the next few days clarify how serious the Burakovsky injury is, and that answer shapes whether this is a manageable blip or something Travis Green has to actively work around with his lines.