The hottest team right now in the Eastern Conference playoff race is the Ottawa Senators. Once thought of as a team that was going to miss the postseason, they are on a serious heater and a big-time threat to make the postseason and be a team nobody wants to play.
They will host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night in the final Eastern Conference wild card spot, tied with the New York Islanders and three points behind the Boston Bruins for the first wild card spot after they beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-3, in overtime on Wednesday night.
Ahead of the Sens game against the Penguins, they got some brutal injury news that will cost one of their top players the rest of the regular season and at least the first round of the playoffs.
Senators lose defenseman Thomas Chabot to injury against Rangers
Ottawa had two impressive road wins on back-to-back nights this week. On Monday night, they beat the New York Rangers, 2-1, at Madison Square Garden. They followed that up with a win over the Detroit Red Wings in the Motor City on Tuesday night. However, it was an injury against New York that is going to cost head coach Travis Green one of his top defensemen.
Bruce Garrioch reported on Thursday that Thomas Chabot was going to miss the rest of the regular season and at least the first round of the playoffs with an injury sustained on Monday night against the Rangers. He was cross-checked in the arm by J.T. Miller, which broke his forearm, according to Garroich, who said that Chabot had surgery on Thursday and is going to miss six to eight weeks.
Ottawa has brought up prospect Carter Yakemchuk, and he played against Detroit. Selected seventh overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the Senators are going to throw him into the postseason mix without hesitation. Even without Chabot, the Sens are rolling and are a dangerous team. Ottawa dominated the Black and Gold this season, which has them on Boston's playoff tail as it hits the final couple of weeks.