Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven will make his 2026 playoff debut in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Hurricanes tonight, he told reporters at Thursday’s morning skate (including Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press).
Kleven has been out of commission since April 2 with an upper-body injury sustained while blocking a shot in a game against the Sabres. At a time when the Sens were already down Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, it was a crushing injury that removed all three of their left-side regulars from the lineup. Sanderson ultimately returned for their next game, and Chabot followed suit soon after, but Kleven’s injury – plus Nick Jensen‘s continued absence due to meniscus surgery and Artem Zub‘s departure in Game 1 with a lower-body injury – has still put a strain on Ottawa’s defense to begin the postseason.
Now, Ottawa will be down “just” Jensen and Zub as they try to climb out of a 2-0 hole at home. After dressing Dennis Gilbert and Lassi Thomson as their third pair for Game 2, both of them will come out while Cameron Crotty steps in on Kleven’s right side to make his first-ever playoff appearance, head coach Travis Green said (via Claire Hanna of TSN).
Kleven, coming off his second full regular season, was quite reliable as the #3 lefty on the Sens’ depth chart this season. Selected 44th overall in 2020, Kleven set career highs in assists (15), points (18), hits (126), and average time on ice (17:21) while suiting up in 70 contests. He emerged with a +2 rating and had spectacular results when paired with Jordan Spence, controlling 60.4% of expected goals in 657 minutes together at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck.
Jensen’s and Zub’s injuries mean Spence has been elevated to top-four duties, so Kleven won’t have that kind of support on his right flank tonight. Nonetheless, he’s a significant plug-and-play upgrade over Gilbert, who actually had a solid go of things in his limited minutes in Games 1 and 2. Kleven’s higher ceiling – plus his strong performance in their first-round loss to the Maple Leafs last season – makes him an appealing option to get back in the lineup while likely seeing some penalty-kill time as well.