OTTAWA — Patrick Sieloff's return to the NHL may have been short-lived, but he made it count.
The Senators defenceman scored Ottawa's opening goal midway through the first period in a 7-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, becoming the first player in league history to score a goal in each of his first two career games while playing for different teams.
"It was kind of neat," Sieloff said Wednesday after practice. "I was obviously a little bit (nervous), no one's ever going to say they're not nervous, you're always going to have nerves when you come up."
The Senators announced later that Sieloff has been returned to the American Hockey League's Belleville Senators, likely to make room for new signing Christian Wolanin.
Toiling in the minor leagues is nothing new for Sieloff, who might have wondered prior to his recent callup if he'd ever get a chance to play in the NHL again.
Drafted by the Calgary Flames 42nd overall in 2012, Sieloff spent three years in the AHL before getting his first call-up on April 9, 2016 where he scored in a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
That June, Sieloff was traded to the Senators in exchange for Alex Chiasson.
Sieloff attended Senators training camp looking to make a good impression on his new coaches and teammates, but instead found himself in one of the most difficult situations of his career.
During a training camp scrimmage Sieloff hit Clarke MacArthur hard, leaving the winger with a concussion. Bobby Ryan jumped Sieloff in retaliation and on the next shift Chris Neil attempted to go after the young defenceman. Sieloff was ultimately pulled from the scrimmage for his own safety.
Sieloff was sent to AHL Binghamton following that camp and didn't get called up once. Despite the turn of events, Sieloff signed a one-year, two-way extension with the Senators this past summer.
"I think people took perverse pleasure in ragging on him," Mark Borowiecki said of his fellow defenceman. "I'm never going to try and put a spin on something as horrible as a concussion like that. It was an unfortunate situation for everyone, but by no means did (Sieloff) have any intention of going out there and say 'I'm going to potentially end Clarke's career.' That's not the way it is.
"He was a young guy looking to make a mark and do his thing and show he can play and unfortunately it ended up in a negative situation, but that's the nature of a contact sport."
Sieloff was recalled to fill in for captain Erik Karlsson who revealed the devastating news that he and his wife, Melinda, had lost their son. The team has said it will give Karlsson all the time he needs and as such his return is unknown.
The Senators (26-35-11) host the Edmonton Oilers (32-36-5) Thursday and Wolanin, who the Senators signed to a two-year entry-level contract Wednesday, is expected to be in the lineup.
Wolanin was Ottawa's fourth-round selection, 107th overall, in the 2015 NHL Draft and just wrapped up his season with the University of Dakota's Fighting Hawks.
Craig Anderson will get the start in goal, while Ryan Dzingel will return to the lineup for the first time since taking a puck to the back of the head Saturday night.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press