The Ottawa Senators arrived in a playoff spot on Tuesday night.
Now, with 11 games left, the goal is to stay there and book a ticket to the National Hockey League’s big dance for the second straight spring.
They’ll have to do it without veteran defenceman Thomas Chabot.
After leaving Monday’s 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers after taking an ugly cross-check on the arm from J.T. Miller, Chabot was sent for testing by the club’s medical staff on Wednesday in Ottawa, and the talk in league circles is that the timeline is at least six weeks, if not more.
The club called it an arm injury.
The Senators were trying to determine whether Chabot would need surgery or if the injury could heal on its own. If he does need to go under the knife, that would happen fairly quickly. The recovery period is six to eight weeks.
A league executive told the Ottawa Citizen that the possibility of surgery would suggest that Chabot fractured the right arm when he left in the dying seconds of the first.
It also means the Senators would not only have to make the playoffs, but they’d likely have to go two rounds before the possibility even exists that Chabot suits up again.
That point is probably moot because, as coach Travis Green told reporters on Monday, the reality is Chabot is going to be out long-term. The arm, which he had surgery on in May 2024, is in a splint.
Yes, the Senators were able to score a massive 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena with only four of their regular defencemen, but the road will only get more difficult from here with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in town on Thursday night.
Filling the gaps down the stretch
Losing Chabot is a big blow, no matter what way you slice it.
He’d been averaging nearly 28 minutes per night in the seven games the club played without the injured Jake Sanderson. Chabot, who bleeds the red, white and black of the Senators, will be happy if his club makes the post-season, but as the longest-serving player, you’d love to see him be part of it.
The Senators have always had a “next man up” mentality. That was never more evident than in the victory over the Wings. The club is without three of its top four blueliners. Veteran defenceman Nick Jensen had knee surgery last week and is done for the season.
Blueliners Dennis Gilbert and Lassi Thomson, who were both called up from the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville, have both suffered injuries that will keep them out down the stretch.
The Senators recalled rookie defencemen Carter Yakemchuk and Jorian Donovan to face the Wings.
Yakemchuk, the No. 7 selection in the 2024 NHL draft, seized the moment by picking up a goal and an assist in his debut. Donovan didn’t see a shift in the third period, but did his job with five minutes of ice time.
Both are here for the foreseeable future, and it would be no surprise if Yakemchuk is with the club the rest of the season.
Performances like those are why the Senators are 15-3-2 in their last 20 games and back in a playoff spot in the East.
“It’s not a regular first game. It’s almost like a first playoff game, with what’s at stake and how big this game was,” captain Brady Tkachuk said after the win over the Wings.
He’s right, that was a big stage, and the Senators were able to secure two points they badly needed. But this is about what you have done for me lately, and they have to repeat that effort against the Penguins.
Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk (right) celebrates his first-period goal with teammate Carter Yakemchuk during their team’s game against the Detroit Red Wings on March 24, 2026, in Detroit.
Sanderson is on the road to return
You have to give Tyler Kleven, Jordan Spence, Artem Zub and Nikolas Matinpalo a lot of credit for carrying the load.
Kleven played a career-high 28 minutes in Detroit on the back end of a back-to-back. Spence is playing his best hockey of the season since being moved into an elevated role with 26 minutes against the Wings.
Zub had his first NHL fight after dropping the gloves with former Senators winger Alex DeBrincat in the final seconds, a moment that likely felt good for a lot of Ottawa fans to witness, given his history with this city.
But help is on the way for the Senators.
Sanderson, who averages 25 minutes per night, will miss his 10th straight game with the Penguins in town. He suffered a shoulder injury on March 7 against the Seattle Kraken.
He resumed skating a week ago, but the expectation is he won’t play for at least another week.
That will be welcome news, but the Senators still have a long trek ahead to make the playoffs.
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