'Chabby's a warrior': Chabot makes early return from injury for surging Senators

Ottawa Senators' Thomas Chabot (72) is congratulated by goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) after defeating the Florida Panthers in NHL action in Ottawa on Thursday, April 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Two weeks to the day after undergoing surgery for a broken arm Thomas Chabot was back in the Ottawa Senators lineup on Thursday night.

Chabot, the longest serving member of the Senators, suffered the fracture March 23 during a game against the New York Rangers and underwent surgery a few days later.

The Senators defenceman didn’t even get eased back into action after missing eight games.

Chabot played 21:16 in Ottawa’s 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Only Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub had more ice time.

“That’s a light night for Chabby,” joked Senators head coach Travis Green. “Chabby’s a warrior, man. He’s a tough customer, plays through a lot and happy to have him back.”

Chabot was expected to miss four to eight weeks, and if the Senators weren’t in such a tight race for the playoffs, he may have taken longer. But he had been testing things out the last five days and felt confident he could play to his normal level.

“When you miss some time you just try to get back to the pace and try to keep things as simple as could be,” he said. “I thought it went well, and obviously, tomorrow’s another day and hopefully we take a step with a big game coming Saturday here.”

In his absence, the Senators went 4-3-1 and managed to keep themselves in playoff contention with Ottawa holding the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The last thing Chabot wanted was to disrupt what the team had achieved of late.

“Like I said (Thursday) morning it sucks to be out and you don’t feel like you’re part of it,” Chabot said. “So, being back out there and playing it was great, it was a good feeling.”

In less than a week, the Senators bolstered their blueline after being decimated by injuries. Sanderson returned last Saturday and now with Chabot back in the lineup, the Senators are getting healthy when it counts most.

“It’s huge for us,” said Sanderson of Chabot’s return. “A guy who plays a lot of minutes, and (Thursday) it really didn’t look like he missed a step, breaking out the puck really well, keeping things simple, getting pucks to the net, and that’s what he’s best at. We definitely missed him.”

Ottawa’s blueline is also contributing offensively of late.

In the past two games, defencemen have combined for four of Ottawa’s 11 goals.

Sanderson, with a pair, and Jordan Spence each scored against Tampa and Zub added one Thursday.

Zub is known for his strong defensive play and having him contribute offensively is a bonus at this crucial time.

“He’s so good,” said Sanderson, who primarily plays with Zub. “You saw it every single night. Somebody I lean on and count on every game. He’s so dialed in at practice, works so hard and to see him get rewarded is awesome.”

With three games remaining, Ottawa will need everyone to continue elevating their game.

Ottawa holds a three-point lead on both the Detroit Red Wings (41-29-9) and New York Islanders (43-31-5). The Senators play the Islanders Saturday afternoon in what could be their biggest game of the season.

They then play the New Jersey Devils Sunday before wrapping up the regular season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Senators also have the potential to catch the Boston Bruins (43-26-10), who have a two-point lead over Ottawa and hold the first wild-card spot, setting up a wild finish to the regular season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2026.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press