Brady Tkachuk did not play against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday because of an upper-body injury.
"It's not what you want, that's for sure," coach Travis Green said following the morning skate. "But that's part of the NHL, you're going to lose guys. Hopefully he'll just be out for a game."
Green confirmed Tkachuk sustained the injury from a Ryan Graves hit late in the second period of a 1-0 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. Graves was assessed a minor penalty for interference on the play.
This most recent injury is on top of a nagging lower-body injury Tkachuk sustained while representing the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. That injury forced the forward to miss two games (Feb. 22-26) and numerous subsequent practices.
"It hasn't been easy for him," Ottawa forward Shane Pinto said. "I think he's been doing the best he can. But yeah, I think that just shows his character. I think he's trying to grind it out for the boys. It's good that hopefully he gets a little rest here and hopefully comes back sooner than later because obviously, he's a big part of our team."
Tkachuk leads the Senators with 29 goals and has 55 points in 71 games this season.
"It's a lot of hockey," Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot said. "Obviously, he didn't get the bye week either [during the 4 Nations Face-Off] , but I mean everybody [fights through it] at this time of the year.
"Brady has been the leader behind it all and he's been pushing for us. Obviously you never want to see a teammate miss any games, but whatever he needs to do to get back and ready for that stretch coming up here."
The Senators (39-28-6) hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, seven points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens.
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