The Ottawa Senators will be without winger Alex Kovalev for at least a week with a knee injury.
It's not yet known when Kovalev suffered the injury, as he has played every game for the Senators this season including Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Kovalev logged 13:32 of ice-time in the game, with no points and no shots on goal. He finished with a minus-1 rating.
Head coach Cory Clouston admitted that the Russian has been hampered by injuries this season that have affected his game.
"When he's on his game, he's as good as anybody. The consistency hasn't been there. There's been different reasons why the consistency hasn't been there. Obviously he hasn't been 100 per cent healthy for a while," Clouston said. "It's kind of been hit and miss: his knee will get better and (then), whether he takes a bad step or it gets banged or if it's just wear and tear (it sets him back). Two games back-to-back is tough on it, but he can be very effective.
"To me it's an opportunity for someone to step up and whether it's a young guy or somebody already in our lineup, they'll just pick up those minutes."
The 37-year-old Kovalev is in the final season of a two-year, $10 million contract with Ottawa.
Meanwhile, Senators forward Mike Fisher is expected to be in the lineup Tuesday when Ottawa visits Boston.
Fisher was injured in the third period in Ottawa's loss to the Lightning while blocking a shot. He left the game and returned for just one shift before shutting it down for the rest of the night.
