Ottawa Senators defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo was ruled out for the remainder of Monday’s game against the New Jersey Devils with an upper-body injury.
Per TSN’s Claire Hanna, Matinpalo suffered the injury near the end of the first period. He had 2:19 of ice time before leaving the game.
Matinpalo skated in his first full NHL season in 2025-26, recording five assists in 50 games while averaging 15:38 of ice time.
An undrafted free agent, the 28-year-old signed a one-year, entry-level contract with Ottawa in May of 2023.
Prior to tonight’s contest, Matinpalo had skated in 100 career NHL games, scoring one goal with nine points.
He also helped Finland win gold at the 2026 IIHF World Championship and won Olympic bronze in February.
The Senators have had injury problems on the blueline to start the season with Jake Sanderson exiting early in the team’s opening game against Toronto with a lower-body injury while Artem Zub has yet to make his season debut as he continues to recover from a knee injury he suffered during last year’s playoffs.