The Ottawa Senators will have to make their playoff run without the services of Alex Kovalev.
The team announced on Saturday that Kovalev needs surgery on a torn ACL in his left knee and is expected to need three to four months of recovery time.
Kovalev suffered the injury on Thursday night in Tampa Bay during Ottawa's 4-3 shootout loss to the Lightning.
The veteran is expected to have the surgery in two weeks.
"I thought he was a real fine player for us," said Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray. "(He was) a guy that occupied a good player on the other team. He was a tremendous complimentary player for Mike Fisher.
"Certainly this year is over," said Murray. "The normal rehab they tell me is three-and-a-half to four months minimum."
"To lose him in the second-last game of the year, in a game that really didn't mean very much, is very disappointing for us as an organization and certainly for Alex," said Murray.
Kovalev is completing his first season with the Senators. He scored 18 goals and 31 assists in 77 games. He signed with Ottawa as an unrestricted free agent last summer after playing four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens.
The 37-year old Russian sniper has 412 goals and 990 points over 16 NHL seasons.
The Senators announced on Saturday that they have recalled forward Zack Smith and defenceman Brian Lee from Binghamton of the AHL.
