The Ottawa Senators are getting bitten by the injury bug at the wrong time of year.

Already without captain and leading point-getter Erik Karlsson for the time being, they won't get forward Zack Smith or blue-liners Cody Ceci and Marc Methot back until the playoffs, head coach Guy Boucher told broadcaster Dean Brown on Monday.

And that's assuming Ottawa does make the postseason. The Sens are just three points ahead of the Lightning for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, though they do have a game in hand.

Ottawa takes on the Red Wings on Monday night with a blue line that may make the club look more like the Binghamton Senators.

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