OTTAWA — Tyler Kleven manoeuvred through a crowded locker room past cameras and microphones.
The defenceman peeled off his Senators practice jersey as reporters hovered nearby following the team's morning skate.
Kleven declared moments later he was ready to enter the playoff fray. Ottawa head coach Travis Green confirmed not long after that a key component would indeed rejoin his battered blue-line corps.
"I feel good," Kleven said. "Feel like I'm rested … I've got plenty of skates in. I'm ready to go."
The 24-year-old will suit up Thursday with Ottawa down 2-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes in the teams' first-round playoff series.
Kleven spoke to the media for the first time since taking a puck to the face April 2 — an injury that cost him the final seven games of the regular schedule and two post-season contests. He's been practising with extra protection around his jaw for the last week.
"Such a big piece," said defenceman Thomas Chabot. "He's played some good hockey for us all year. He's adding size, he's adding grit."
"You need a guy like that," added fellow blueliner Jake Sanderson. "Big, heavy, strong and plays physical."
Green also announced another depth move, as Ottawa native Cameron Crotty will make his playoff debut on the back end. The 26-year-old has just eight games of NHL experience, including six with the Senators in 2025-26.
The club is still without top-pair option Artem Zub after he was hurt early in the best-of-seven opener against Carolina. Dennis Gilbert and Lassi Thomson will also sit as healthy scratches for Game 3 against the Eastern Conference's top seed.
"We didn't take it lightly," Green said of inserting Crotty into the lineup. "Just like the games that he gave us. Some real safe, hard minutes. Part of it is who we're playing — the style of game that he could bring, the style of game our opponent brings.
"Real confident that he can get the job done."
Ottawa played most of the first two contests minus three of its six regular defencemen, with Kleven, Zub and Nick Jensen, who has a knee injury and is out long-term, all watching.
"He's such a rangy, smart, strong defenceman," Senators centre Shane Pinto said of Kleven. "Just happy to have him back. A tough couple weeks for him."
The 24-year-old from Fargo, N.D., selected 44th overall at the 2020 NHL draft, registered 18 points (three goals, 15 assists) and 53 penalty minutes across 70 games this season.
Kleven's main task, however, is smothering plays in the neutral zone at the other end of the rink, especially against the balanced, battle-tested Hurricanes, who picked up a pair of tight victories, including a 3-2 double-overtime decision, at home to open the series.
"We just gotta keep doing what we're doing," he said. "I don't think that we've had the bounces that we wanted. We're playing good hockey … they forecheck hard. We were expecting that.
"It's not easy to play against … gotta go out there and battle."
TIME CRUNCH
Sanderson played a game-high 43 minutes six seconds in Monday's extra-time loss, while Chabot (40:50) and Jordan Spence (39:01) were also way over their averages, with the team missing Zub and Kleven.
"Whatever the game has in store, you're ready for it," Sanderson said. "When you play that amount of minutes,(it) doesn't feel great the next day. But we're lucky enough to have a few days off. Feeling really good."
Pinto said it's hard to put into context what that amount of ice time in a playoff game does to the body.
"Especially at that level," he added. "I don't think anyone realizes how competitive and hard and physical it is. And for our defenceman to play those minutes … I don't know how they recovered, but they did and they'll be ready to go."
STAY THE COURSE
Ottawa's power play has gone 0-for-7 against a swarming, ultra-aggressive Carolina penalty kill that ranked 11th in the regular season at 80.5 per cent.
Green said the league's eighth-best man advantage since the Olympic break is "due" for a breakthrough, but needs to stay calm after two difficult performances.
"You can't lose confidence," said the coach. "I thought we showed a little frustration, or felt a little bit of frustration, (in Game 2) because their penalty kill did a real good job, which they're going to do. They can frustrate you, but you gotta stick with it and wait for your chance.
"Then you gotta put it in the back of the net."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2026.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
