22 Nikita Zaitsev D

Zaitsev (undisclosed) won't play for Team Russia in the upcoming IIHF World Championship, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports.

Zaitsev is evidently dealing with an undisclosed injury that will prevent him from participating in late May's World Championship. The 29-year-old blueliner tallied 17 points in 55 games with the Senators this season.

Zaitsev recorded a goal and an assist with two shots and four blocks Wednesday in a 4-3 overtime win over the Maple Leafs.

Zaitsev opened the scoring with 1:08 left in the first period, blasting a long shot that rang off the post and in. He also drew the lone helper on Connor Brown's short-handed tally midway through the middle frame. It was just the second multi-point game of the season for Zaitsev; the other came way back in the season opener. The 29-year-old finished the season with four goals and 17 assists in 55 games.

Zaitsev scored the game-winning goal and added five blocks and four PIM in Monday's 2-1 win over Winnipeg.

Zaitsev set up in the right faceoff circle and absolutely blew a slap shot past Winnipeg goalie Laurent Brossoit, putting the Senators on top with just 1:13 left in the third period. It was the third goal of the year for the 29-year-old defenseman, whose 15 points this season represent his best total since he registered 36 as a rookie with Toronto in 2016-17.

Zaitsev recorded an assist, five hits and three blocked shots in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Canucks.

Zaitsev assisted on an empty-net goal by Connor Brown in the third period. The 29-year-old Zaitsev has posted 14 points, 61 shots on net, 100 hits and 88 blocked shots in 46 contests this year. While he's not a big threat to pile up points, his physical production could make the Russian blueliner worth a look in deeper fantasy formats.

Zaitsev (lower body) will play in Saturday's game versus the Canadiens, per the NHL's official media site.

Zaitsev will return to the lineup after missing just one game. The 29-year-old blueliner has accrued 12 points, 89 hits and 81 blocked shots through 43 games this season. He'll skate on the top pairing with Thomas Chabot on Saturday.

Zaitsev (undisclosed) exited warmups early and won't play in Wednesday's game against the Jets, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports.

Zaitsev will miss his first game of the season. The 29-year-old has collected 11 points (one goal, 11 assists), 89 hits and 81 blocked shots across 43 games this season. Jacob Bernard-Docker is expected to make his NHL debut in Zaitsev's place.

Zaitsev recorded an assist, four hits, four blocked shots and a minus-3 rating in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Oilers.

Zaitsev set up defense partner Thomas Chabot for the Senators' first goal of the game at 3:06 of the first period. The 29-year-old Zaitsev has three helpers in his last four outings. The Russian blueliner is up to 11 assists, 57 blocked shots, 54 hits and a minus-11 rating in 30 games.

Zaitsev notched an assist, three blocked shots, two hits and two PIM in Monday's 3-2 loss to the Oilers.

Zaitsev helped out on Evgenii Dadonov's goal in the first minute of the game. The 29-year-old Zaitsev has collected an assist in each of the last two contests. For the year, the Russian defenseman has 10 helpers, 42 shots on net, 53 blocked shots and 48 hits with a minus-6 rating.

Zaitsev recorded an assist and five blocked shots in Sunday's 4-3 shootout win over the Flames.

Zaitsev had the secondary helper on Colin White's tally at 7:09 of the second period. The 29-year-old Zaitsev has collected nine assists, 42 shots on net, 50 blocks and 46 hits in 27 games this year. His career high in points is 36, set as a rookie in 2016-17, but he hasn't topped 14 since then. Any fantasy value for the Russian blueliner comes from his solid defensive metrics, aside from a minus-7 rating.

Zaitsev registered an assist Sunday in a 3-2 overtime win over the Canadiens.

Zaitsev blasted a shot from the point and watched his forward teammate, Josh Norris, redirect the puck into the cage. While the Russian wasn't able to secure his first goal of the season, he's up to seven helpers through 20 games, providing value in deep leagues.

Zaitsev picked up two assists in Friday's 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs.

It was a revenge game for the former Toronto blueliner, as Zaitsev notched two helpers in less than five minutes during the second period, including one on Chris Tierney's eventual game-winner. The 29-year-old has never come close to matching the production he delivered as a rookie in 2016-17, but with a spot on the Sens' second power-play unit and an improving roster around him, he should be able to top the 12 points in 58 games he managed last season.

Zaitsev managed three points in the final seven games before the hiatus.

Zaitsev just hasn't been the same kind of offensive threat since his rookie year, as he's become far more of a defensive player. He's cut back on his plus-minus deficit, but that's the only way his fantasy value has improved since 2017. He can be safely ignored in virtually all formats.

Zaitsev scored an empty-net goal and added four hits with two PIM in Tuesday's 5-2 win over Buffalo.

Zaitsev scored his first goal of the season when he hit the empty net from the defensive zone with just six seconds left in the third period. He hadn't lit the lamp since March 2, 2019 with Toronto, a stretch of 59 games without a goal. Zaitsev enjoyed a 36-point rookie season in 2016-17 but hasn't come close to matching that production since.

Zaitsev (lower body) had one shot with two blocks and two hits in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to Chicago.

Zaitsev was in the lineup for the first time since Dec. 14 and he finished his return with 17:30 of ice time on a defensive pairing with Mark Borowiecki. The 28-year-old wasn't much of a point producer over his final two years in Toronto and has just eight assists in 33 games in his first season with the Senators.

As expected, Zaitsev (lower body) will rejoin the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Blackhawks, NHL.com's Callum Fraser reports.

Zaitsev has been sidelined for nearly a month with a lower-body injury, so he'll definitely have some rust to shake off against Chicago. The 28-year-old blueliner, who's picked up eight assists in 32 games this campaign, will skate with Mark Borowiecki on the Senators' second pairing Tuesday.

Zaitsev (lower body) returned to practice Monday, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.

Zaitsev skated on his own Sunday, and he looked good enough to rejoin the team at practice. The 28-year-old is expected be ready for Tuesday's game against the Blackhawks, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, but he'll need to be activated from IR first.

Zaitsev (lower body) has skating on his own and should return to practice this week, Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun reports.

Zaitsev has missed the last 12 games with his lower-body injury, last playing on Dec. 14. It sounds like he's close to making his return, which could come as soon as Thursday's contest against Vegas. The Russian blueliner has eight assists in 32 games this season.

Zaitsev (lower body) is on injured reserve, per the NHL's official media site.

Zaitsev has been sidelined since mid-December with a lower-body injury and the Senators have yet to release any details regarding a potential timeline for his return. The recently acquired Mike Reilly will continue to round out Ottawa's depth on the back end until Zaitsev's ready to rejoin the lineup.

Zaitsev (lower body) has been ruled out for Tuesday's matchup with Washington, Ian Mendes of TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.

After being activated off injured reserve, it appeared Zaitsev was healthy and ready to go but remains unavailable. It's not clear if the defenseman suffered a setback in his recovery or if the team is just giving him some more time to get back to 100 percent. Dylan DeMelo (finger) looks set to rejoin the lineup with Zaitsev unavailable.

Zaitsev is listed as a scratch on Saturday's official roster report and won't dress against the Lightning as a result.

The defenseman came off injured reserve earlier in the day, leading some to believe Zaitsev would take the ice Saturday, but that's not the case. He'll sit and Christian Jaros will dress in Zaitsev's place.