OTTAWA — In Thomas Chabot’s right forearm there are new plates and screws, but the real reason he’s playing is because he’s tough as nails.
“I shocked the world,” joked Chabot.
Just 17 days after suffering a broken right forearm and two weeks after surgery, the defenceman miraculously returned to the Senators' lineup Thursday against the Florida Panthers. Chabot originally was expected to miss four to eight weeks.
“Chabby’s a warrior,” head coach Travis Green said.
He’s the type of player you need in the playoffs. After their convincing 5-1 win against Florida with Chabot in the lineup, the Senators can clinch a playoff spot on Saturday with a win against the New York Islanders and a bit of help.
“We’re pretty mind blown to be honest with you,” Senators defenceman Jordan Spence said about Chabot’s return. “I’m still shocked that he’s even playing (right now) to be completely honest with you.”
His coach said he had never seen a player bounce back from a severe injury that quickly.
“He's extremely tough. One of the toughest players that I've coached or played with when it comes to playing through injuries,” said Green. “Yeah, it's quite amazing to be honest.”
“He’s a beast,” said Brady Tkachuk.
Chabot was excellent in his return, making quick zone exits to earn the second star of the game.
“When you miss some time, you just try to get back to the pace and keep trying to keep things as simple as it could be tonight. And I thought it was. It went well,” said Chabot after the game.
Fellow top defender Jake Sanderson was impressed.
“Tonight, it really didn't look like he missed a step, breaking out the puck really well, being simple, getting pucks to the net, that's what he's best at,” he said.
In his first game back, Chabot earned 21:16 of ice-time.
“That’s a light night for Chabby,” Green said wryly.
Green reiterated that there were no restrictions on the defenceman. “Once you're back, you're back.”
This was Chabot’s second spell out with injury this season. The team has gone 11-11-1 without him. The team needs Chabot in the playoffs. The tandem of Sanderson and Chabot is one of the best in the Eastern Conference. The Senators are 25-13-9 with Chabot and Sanderson in the lineup compared to 17-13-1 with one or both missing.
In the meantime, Sanderson has had five points in four games since returning from injury himself.
The Senators controlled play against an injury-plagued Panthers side, and limited Florida to 23 shots. On the season the Senators are third best in shots allowed, giving up only 24.2 a game. However, in the eight games without Chabot, that jumped to 29 shots a game.
Every time Chabot’s shoots, fans hold their breath, fearing he will aggravate his injury.
For now, he is wearing protective gear to ensure that the vulnerable bone is protected.
“It’s a lot faster than I expected,” Chabot told reporters. “I think a lot of work with our medical stuff. They spent a lot of time with me. I’m lucky, but it’s the best-case scenario, and I’m just happy to be back.”
“I broke my arm. It’s as simple as that,” Chabot added . “Everything went well. The healing process went a lot quicker than we all expected.”
If this was October or even mid-January Chabot would not be playing, but…
“The last four games of the season, we know how big they’re going to be. I felt really good. I wasn’t going to go back out there if I felt I couldn’t do what I can do out there.”
Chabot simply didn't want to miss the final stretch of the season.
“You want to be part of it. You don’t want to be sitting out. There is nobody who is pushing more than myself, like I did the last couple of days. I wanted to play hockey, and I wanted to get back in,” said Chabot.
It is Chabot’s ninth season in the NHL, but he only broke the playoff drought last season with six post-season games.
“It speaks volumes for his preparation and his work ethic and his commitment to what we’re doing here,” captain Tkachuk said. “Everyone knows how big a character he is. When he gets back to the room, it just lights everybody up.”
Entering Thursday night’s game, the Senators had an 83-per-cent chance of making the playoffs according to Moneypuck.com. With the win, the Senators are now at 92 per cent. Hindsight will tell us if the Senators made the right decision to let Chabot play so swiftly after a major injury. But it worked on Thursday.
“We need him,” said Sanderson. “Obviously an important time of the year, so all hands on deck at this point." It's much needed.""
If the Senators clinch a playoff spot Saturday, they'll have the luxury of being able to rest Chabot for the final two regular-season games.
Magic number
The Senators’ magic number to secure a playoff spot is three points.
If the Senators beat the New York Islanders on Saturday and Detroit loses in any fashion that same day, there will be an X stamped beside Ottawa in the standings. If the Senators earn one win in their final three games and both the Islanders and Detroit lose one game, Ottawa will make it.
