The Ottawa Senators are down another marquee blue-liner.
Head coach D.J. Smith announced Wednesday that stalwart defenseman Thomas Chabot is "likely out a couple weeks" with an upper-body injury, according to TSN.
If Chabot is out exactly two weeks, he'd only be able to return for the final game of the regular season on April 13 against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Senators are already without prized trade deadline acquisition Jakob Chychrun, who was ruled out for a couple of weeks on Saturday due to a lower-body issue.
In the meantime, defense prospect Tyler Kleven, who just turned pro last week, will make his NHL debut Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Ottawa used the following defense pairs during Wednesday's practice:
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Jake Sanderson | Artem Zub |
| Erik Brannstrom | Travis Hamonic |
| Tyler Kleven | Nick Holden |
Chabot leads all Senators skaters in ice time (24:58 per game) and paces the club's defense with 41 points in 68 games.
The Senators are five points out of a playoff spot with eight games remaining. They own a 2.3% chance of making the postseason for the first time since 2017, according to MoneyPuck.
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