The Ottawa Senators will be shorthanded for the rest of Tuesday night’s game.
Center Zack Smith left the Senators’ bench in the first period and will not return with an upper-body injury, per Ottawa’s communications team. Smith took a hard hit from Rangers’ tough guy Tanner Glass and J.T. Miller.
Smith has just two assists in eight games so far this playoff, while averaging 17:33 per game. However, he has been excellent in the faceoff circle at 52% and a big hitter himself, throwing 21 hits in those eight games.
He has posted back-to-back seasons with 30-something points, going 16-16-32 in 74 games this past year. The Senators locked him up four-year contract extension worth $3.25MM per season back in January. At the end of the regular season, Smith missed a handful of games with an upper-body injury.
The Senators are up 2-0 in the series entering Tuesday’s Game 3.