OTTAWA – It didn’t take long for Brady Tkachuk to know something wasn’t right.

The Ottawa Senators captain was cross-checked into the boards five minutes into the club’s 4-1 home-opening loss Monday to Nashville by the Predators’ Roman Josi. But while Tkachuk continued playing, he knew something was wrong.

Tkachuk recalled how on a partial breakaway in the third period he attempted a shot and “it was a complete muffin.”

“So, I just knew, like my finger was killing me when I shot it too,” he said. “And just every time I touched the puck, and it was bothering me.”

That moment not only marked the end of Tkachuk’s night but the start of a challenging recovery process that will force him to miss the first couple months of a season he had been excited for.

The 26-year-old captain underwent

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