NHL Buzz: Chabot likely out 'couple weeks' for Senators

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Ottawa Senators

Thomas Chabot could be out the rest of the regular season with an upper-body injury.
The defenseman left during the third period of a 5-2 win against the Florida Panthers on Monday after taking a hit by Panthers forward Givani Smith. Chabot returned to the game.
Coach D.J. Smith said Chabot "will not be available" when Ottawa hosts the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, NBCSP, ESPN+, SN NOW) and added he is "likely out a couple of weeks."
The Senators (36-33-5) play their regular-season finale at the Buffalo Sabres on April 13 and trail the Pittsburgh Penguins by five points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with eight games remaining.
Chabot leads Ottawa defensemen with 41 points (11 goals, 30 assists) in 68 games this season.

Detroit Red Wings

Robby Fabbri is out for the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury sustained earlier this month.
Coach Derek Lalonde said Fabbri will be ready for the start of the 2023-24 season.
"He had a procedure and they cleaned things up," Lalonde said Wednesday. "He'll be a routine 4-to-6 weeks and won't miss anything in his summer training. We expect him to be fully ready next year. ... It was a minor procedure that they had to do. ... It went well."
The forward was injured when he was hit by Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson at 17:43 of the first period in Detroit's 4-3 win March 8. Fabbri had 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 28 games with the Red Wings this season.
The 27-year-old didn't make his season debut until Jan. 4, a 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. He had surgery on his right knee after tearing the ACL on March 10, 2022. It was Fabbri's third ACL surgery; he had two on his left knee in 2017, the second keeping him out for the 2017-18 season. -- Tracey Myers

St. Louis Blues

Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas will not play for the Blues against the Blackhawks on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, BSMW, ESPN+, SN NOW).
Each forward is out with an upper-body injury.
"Thomas has been dealing with something, so they both will not be players tomorrow," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said Wednesday. "Thomas maybe (could return Saturday). That's all I know."
Buchnevich had a goal and an assist in 19:10 of ice time in a 6-5 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Thomas had a goal in 15:53 of ice time.
Buchnevich is second on the Blues with 66 points (25 goals, 41 assists) in 59 games this season; Thomas is third with 63 points (17 goals, 46 assists) in 70 games.
Kasperi Kapanen will shift from wing to center against the Blackhawks.
"It's new for him. We'll see how he does," Berube said. "He hasn't really (played center), probably when he was young, but he's got a good head. He's pretty solid defensively, and I feel like he's the best guy to do the job."-- Lou Korac

Toronto Maple Leafs

Ryan O'Reilly's return from a broken finger is getting closer for the Maple Leafs, and coach Sheldon Keefe did not rule out the possibility that he could be back this week.
"Just to continue to ramp him up and make sure things respond positively both as he is shooting more, handling pucks more and then also just making sure he's safe in terms of minimizing risk for re-injury," Keefe said Tuesday. "… I would call it unlikely to play this week but that hasn't been ruled out necessarily. I think the plan is more to ramp him up through this week and then look more towards next (week to return to play)."
The center took part in the optional morning skate Wednesday before the Maple Leafs lost 3-2 in overtime to the Florida Panthers and has not played since March 4, when he sustained the injury in a 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. O'Reilly had surgery and the initial time frame for a return was four weeks.
He took part in a skill development session including handling and shooting pucks with teammates Tuesday but departed before the main session began.
"Today he didn't practice, but he did everything but practice and he got a lot of work in individually himself before we even got out there," Keefe said. "The hope is he will continue to progress towards practice here."
O'Reilly has five points (three goals, two assists) in eight games with the Maple Leafs since being acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 17.
Forward Noel Acciari did not practice Tuesday after sustaining an undisclosed injury in a 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Sunday. He skated on his own Wednesday but did not play against the Panthers.
"He's day to day at this point," Keefe said Tuesday. -- Dave McCarthy