Jason Spezza Goes Under the Knife

Any slim hope that Ottawa Senators forward Jason Spezza had of earning a spot with Team Canada at the upcoming Vancouver Olympics disappeared on Monday night when the seven year veteran suffered a serious knee injury. In the third period of what was a 3-2 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs Spezza who has seen his game come around in the last little while got hurt when Leafs winger Lee Stempniak accidently fell on Spezza’s leg. The good news for the Senators is that their former 2001 first round pick will not have to go under the knife. Still it has been diagnosed that he will miss up to eight weeks. “It means we’ll have to be more of a team than ever,” Coach Cory Clouston said. “We’re going to have guys step up and play with structure.”  Right away Spezza who is a key player for the Senators knew that something was wrong since he couldn’t put any weight on the leg. “It’s always frustrating when you get hurt,” Spezza who earlier scored his fifth goal of the season said. “My game was coming around but everything happens for a reason so now I’ve got to get better.” Trying to put a positive spin on things team captain Daniel Alfredsson believes that now is the opportunity for someone to step up and take advantage. With Spezza going down the Senators called up Josh Hennessey from Binghamton of the AHL. Still make no mistake that if the Senators are to make the playoffs and enjoy a lengthy run then they will need a healthy Spezza down the stretch.