| KANATA, Ontario -- Ottawa Senators leading goal-scorer Shawn McEachern could miss the first round of the playoffs with
a broken right thumb.
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| McEachern |
McEachern suffered the injury when he was slashed by Washington
left wing Steve Konowalchuk in the second period of Saturday's
4-3 victory and is expected to miss at least three weeks.
The Senators, who trail Toronto by five points in the Northeast
Division and are sixth in the Eastern Conference, have six
games remaining in the regular season after Thursday's 6-3 loss in Tampa. The Senators had already clinched a playoff
spot with a 5-2 victory over Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Prior to the game, Ottawa called up center Kevin Miller and left
wing Yves Sarault from Grand Rapids of the International League.
Miller scored a pair of power-play goals against the Flyers, his
first two goals in the NHL since April 1998 with the New York
Islanders.
The 31-year-old McEachern, who signed a three-year contract with
the Senators earlier this month, has recorded 29 goals and 22
assists for 51 points in 69 games. He is third on the club in
scoring behind Radek Bonk and Daniel Alfredsson.
McEachern broke into the NHL for the final 15 games of the
1991-92 season after an eight-game stint for the U.S. Olympic
team and was a key cog in the Pittsburgh Penguins' run to the
Stanley Cup, scoring twice with seven assists in 19 playoff
games.
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