Sens hit with a double blow as two key players are now ruled out for a while and possibly for the season
Thomas Chabot is out, and Travis Green just lost his top defenseman at the worst time in Ottawa's playoff chase.
This isn't a short-term bump. Green made it clear postgame - Chabot and Lassi Thomson are both out for a while.
That lands hard on a blue line that was already stretched thin before puck drop.
Chabot left after the first period against New York Rangers, grabbing his arm and heading straight down the tunnel.
He didn't return. And neither did Ottawa's stability on the back end.
Thomson followed later with a lower-body issue, turning one injury into a full defensive breakdown.
Ottawa running out of options on defense
This is where it gets serious.
Jake Sanderson, Nick Jensen, and Dennis Gilbert were already out. Now add Chabot and Thomson to that list.
That's five defensemen missing from the same group.
You can't patch that easily, especially not in late March.
Chabot was logging major minutes with 31 points in 55 games, driving both ends of the ice.
He's not just another piece. He's the one Green leans on in all situations.
Power play, late-game shifts, tough matchups - all of it runs through him.
Now it doesn't.
And the timing couldn't be worse. Ottawa sits 4 points back of a wild card spot.
There's no cushion left. Every game is direct pressure.
The Senators already beat the Rangers 2-1, but that win came at a cost that could ripple for weeks.
Now they head to Detroit for a key matchup, likely with call-ups filling major minutes.
That's not ideal in a playoff race where structure matters every shift.
Green doesn't have the luxury of easing replacements in.
He's going to need immediate minutes from players who weren't in the plan a week ago.
And that's where seasons start to tilt.
Ottawa was pushing. Now it's reacting.
And without Chabot, the margin just got a lot tighter.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 26|72 ANSWERS Sens hit with a double blow as two key players are now ruled out for a while and possibly for the season Can Ottawa Senators stay in the playoff race without Thomas Chabot ? | ||
| Yes | 28 | 38.9 % |
| No | 44 | 61.1 % |
| List of polls | ||