The Ottawa Senators’ roster has taken another big hit.
Defenceman Thomas Chabot, who left the club’s 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night after 20 minutes with an undisclosed upper-body injury, won’t suit up against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
Coach Travis Green told reporters Wednesday, following an off-ice workout at the Canadian Tire Centre, that there is no timetable for Chabot’s return.
Chabot, who was seen leaving the rink after undergoing treatment, was being sent for further testing. Losing him is another blow to a club that is already without captain Brady Tkachuk, who is recovering from thumb surgery.
“I’ll know a little more later today,” Green said. “He’s being evaluated right now and getting treatment. It’s unlikely he’ll play tomorrow.”
Chabot was injured reaching for a puck in the first period. He later took a hit from Dallas’ Colin Blackwell along the bench on his final shift. Chabot took a quick twirl before the second and went down the hall back to the room.
The hope is that Chabot won’t be out long, but Green has a “next man up mentality” and won’t let the absence be an excuse. The club is 7-3-4 in the 14 games that Tkachuk has missed.
You know with Chabot that if he’s not able to play it’s because he has an injury that won’t allow him to suit up. He has played hurt more than several times during his career, and his teammates call him a warrior.
Taking him out of the mix isn’t easy.
Chabot averages 21 minutes and 56 seconds of ice time per night. That ranks him second on the Senators among defenders behind Jake Sanderson, who is 10th in the National Hockey League at 24:11.
“It sucks. He’s such a huge part of our team,” said Sanderson, who played 29 minutes versus Dallas. “He plays big minutes, plays on both sides of the puck. I’m not sure how long he’s gonna be out for, but we’ll miss him.”
The Senators know this can’t be an excuse to take a step back.
“He’s such a huge part of our back end. There’s no replacing him, but guys are gonna have to step up,” centre Shane Pinto said. “When (Tkachuk) went down, guys had to step up. If Chabot goes down for a bit, guys are going to have to step up.
“We’re going to have to play more of a team game. That’s just part of hockey. You’re not going to go through a full season of health. That’s just how it goes, and (it’s) another challenge for us, but hopefully we rise to it.”
The Senators won’t call anybody up immediately. Instead, they’ll go with the six defencemen currently with the club. Nikolas Matinpalo, who was a healthy scratch the last two games, will suit up against the Bruins.
A lot has been made of the fact that Jordan Spence was regularly scratched by Green before he suited up for the club’s past two games, but the reality is that the Senators had to be prepared for an injury to happen.
“You need more than seven,” Green said.
What will be interesting to watch is how Green deploys his defencemen against the Bruins. Tyler Kleven played 25 minutes against Dallas because of Chabot’s absence and he’ll move up to play in the second pairing, likely with Nick Jensen.
The Senators don’t really have an option to call up from their American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville who can play on the left side. The club has Jorian Donovan, Tomas Hamara and Matthew Andonovski under contract, while Scott Harrington is on a minor-league deal.
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Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, stated Monday that he was happy with the club’s depth on defence, but is always looking for help and admitted losing Donovan Sebrango to Florida on waivers hurt the depth on the left side.
“If you ask every other general manager, you’re always wanting to expand your depth on the left side,” Staios said. “Losing Sebrango on waivers hurts the depth on the left side, but we certainly have players that are in Belleville that continue to work.
“Then we also have the option of some of our right that can play on the left side as well. We feel fine about our depth, but we’ll continue to explore that market.”
For now, with no left-shot options, that means either Matinpalo or Spence will have to play on their off-hand side.
“You don’t see it a lot,” Green said. “It tells you a lot about the position. You see it in the forward position a lot more than on defence.”
If Chabot isn’t ready to make the trip to the West Coast next week, then the Senators will likely have to recall a defenceman to have an extra available.
It would make sense for veteran blueliner Lassi Thomson to be recalled because that’s why the organization brought him back.