Senators’ Thomas Chabot out 4-8 weeks after breaking forearm

The Ottawa Senators got the news back on one of their top defensemen, and it’s not positive.

After leaving Monday night’s game against the New York Rangers after taking a slash to the arm, Thomas Chabot will be sidelined for the next four to eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone in his forearm.

The news means that Chabot will almost certainly be out for the remainder of the regular season, and should the Senators make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they would likely be without Chabot for at least the first round.

Chabot, who has spent the entirety of his career in Canada’s capital since going at No. 15 overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, was having a stellar season for the Sens, putting up 31 points in 55 games while skating to a plus-6 rating on an average of 22:34 of time on ice per game.

The Chabot update was not the big piece of injury news Senators fans got on Thursday, as Julian McKenzie of The Athletic reported that star defenseman Jake Sanderson is skating and would join the team on its upcoming road trip to Florida, while Dennis Gilbert and Lassi Thomson would both be out for a while longer.

The Senators, who got off to a slow start in their quest to make it two consecutive berths in the postseason, have turned things around in recent months and are right in the mix in a crowded race in the Eastern Conference.

As things stand on Thursday afternoon, Ottawa owns the second wild card spot in the East with 85 points by virtue of having a game in hand on the New York Islanders, who also have 85 points.

The Senators came up with a gutsy win over the Detroit Red Wings, who are also right in the mix, without Chabot, Sanderson and multiple other contributors.

Ottawa will look to continue pushing through the adversity and battling for a playoff spot at home on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.