Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot out 'a couple weeks'

The Ottawa Senators may be without star defenseman Thomas Chabot for the rest of the season, after head coach D.J. Smith told Claire Hanna of TSN that he’ll miss a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury. The Senators’ final game of the season is April 13, just over two weeks from now.

That is, of course, unless they pull off a miraculous run over the last eight games to secure a playoff position. Ottawa sits five points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins but has several other teams – the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals – also chasing that final spot. The Sens would need to play considerably better than the 3-6-1 record they have over their last 10 and now would have to do it without their most reliable defenseman.

Chabot, 26, recorded the second double-digit goal season of his career this year, potting 11 while racking up 41 points in 68 games. The smooth-skating defenseman averaged close to 25 minutes a night, a number that is actually down from his last few years. That’s likely because of the improvements to his supporting cast, including the recent arrival of Jakob Chychrun, who, unfortunately, will also miss a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury.

In better news for the Senators, it appears Ridly Greig may not be out for the season after all. Smith told Hanna there is “not as much risk as we originally thought” and that Grieg is back skating. He has not been cleared yet, and if there is any risk at all, the Senators won’t rush back the young forward.