The Ottawa Senators got some painful news here in this first week of the new NHL season.
Brady Tkachuk is hurt, and he'll be out for a while.
The Senators, through head coach Travis Green, announced Tuesday that Tkachuk will miss four weeks due to a right wrist injury he picked up in Monday's game against the Nashville Predators.
The Ottawa captain was injured on a cross-check from Nashville's Roman Josi that sent him falling into the boards in a way that bent his right wrist in an awkward way.
Tkachuk kept playing, but he sat out the game's final nine minutes, signaling that something may have been wrong.
The captain has yet to miss a timespan of four or more weeks in his seven-season NHL career.
MORE: Ben Kindel matches Sidney Crosby's oddly specific Penguins NHL history
Pro Hockey Rumors' Josh Erickson writes, "His four-week minimum means his earliest return is Nov. 11 against the Stars, meaning at least a 13-game absence for the star winger."
Ottawa is just 1-2 and will be without its captain, who notched 55 points in 72 regular season games last year.
The Senators have allowed at least four goals in all three of their games so far, so the lack of Tkachuk's firepower and physicality won't be ideal.
It's a rough time for the Tkachuk family, too, with brother Matthew expected out until December or potentially beyond for the Florida Panthers.
Both brothers will hope to get back sooner rather than later and help their respective teams push toward the playoffs.
More NHL news:
- Alex Ovechkin would have more goals if not for this unlucky reason
- Ovi's latest retirement plans have been revealed, but they leave some mystery
- A good reason to know the name Aliaksei Protas