Senators' Tkachuk out vs. Sabres with upper-body injury

Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk won't play in Tuesday's clash with the Buffalo Sabres due to an upper-body injury, head coach Travis Green announced, per The Athletic's Julian McKenzie.

Green added that the star forward got hurt after taking a hit from Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves during Ottawa's 1-0 overtime loss on Sunday.

"It's not what you want, that's for sure," the bench boss said, per TSN's Claire Hanna. "It's part of the NHL, you're going to lose guys. Hopefully he's only out for a game."

The incident occurred in the final seconds of the middle frame. Graves was handed an interference penalty as Tkachuk labored off the ice and down the tunnel. Tkachuk returned to the bench to start the third period and logged 15:41 of ice time in the contest.

Tkachuk leads the Senators with 29 goals and 227 hits while ranking third on the team with 55 points in 71 outings.

The 25-year-old missed two games in February after the 4 Nations Face-Off. Ottawa dropped both contests - a 5-2 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens and a 4-1 setback against the Winnipeg Jets - in his absence.

The Senators currently hold a comfortable seven-point lead for the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining on their regular-season schedule.

Tuesday's contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET in Ottawa.