Chabot clocking heavy minutes again for Sens
Team given little choice because of trade and rash of injuries to other defencemen
The more things change, the more they stay the same. At least that’s the way life seems to be going for Ottawa Senators workhorse defenceman Thomas Chabot.
In the post-trade deadline world, with Dylan DeMelo gone to Winnipeg and with Mark Borowiecki out indefinitely due to an ankle injury, 30-minute nights are once again becoming the rule rather than the exception for Chabot.
Chabot played 32:47 in Monday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets and followed that up with a 32:36 clocking in Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat by the Nashville Predators. It was a reminder of the days in late December and early January when Chabot routinely topped 30 minutes due to injuries to DeMelo and fellow veterans Nikita Zaitsev and Ron Hainsey.
Before Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, Chabot had played 10 games in excess of 30 minutes. The high-water mark came Dec. 19, when he played 37:50 versus the Nashville Predators.
“I don’t think any player would argue with playing a lot of minutes,” Chabot said. “I just try to take advantage of it as much as I can. We’ve said it as a group, we’re not going to let down just because it’s late in the season and we’re at the bottom of the standings.”
In an ideal world, Senators coach D.J. Smith says Chabot should be playing in the 26-minute range, but there are a number of factors that enter the equation.
“When you get into a game, you owe it to the NHL and the players here to do everything you can to win that game,” said Smith.
He says it’s unfair to put overdue pressure on Belleville call-ups such as Andreas Englund and Christian Jaros to take on too many minutes in critical situations, at least when games are close.
Englund played 6:49 against Columbus and 7:45 versus Nashville. Jaros was on for 6:32 versus Columbus and 7:08 against Nashville.
Christian Wolanin and Erik Brannstrom, who will likely be in the Senators lineup next season, are currently a part of Belleville’s run toward the Calder Cup.
THE NORRIS WATCH: Don’t expect Josh Norris to be here long. The Senators have high hopes that he can stay on a roll with Belleville.
At the same time, the hope is every small taste of the NHL he receives — Norris started Thursday on a line with close friend Brady Tkachuk and Bobby Ryan — puts him one step closer to understanding what NHL duty is all about.
“Everything happens a half-second quicker,” said Norris, who played 15:16 in his NHL debut in last Saturday ’s 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
Once Colin White and/or Anthony Duclair return from injury, Norris is expected to be reassigned to Belleville, where he has scored 30 goals and 28 assists in 52 games, tops among all AHL rookies.
Smith says it’s possible White and Duclair could be back for Saturday’s game versus the Detroit Red Wings. While Norris and Tkachuk played together on the U.S. development team, Norris also spent two years rooming with Canucks star defenceman Quinn Hughes at the University of Michigan.
BIG CROWD FOR PECA: Despite the heavy snowstorm, a healthy group of family and friends made the trek from Petawawa on Thursday to check out hometown boy Matthew Peca as he made his home debut for the Senators.
“My older brother was a Leafs fan, my Dad was a Sens fan, so (the cheering) kind of bounced around in my family,” said Peca, who rushed into action with the Senators in Columbus after being traded from the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. “I didn’t really have a whole lot of expectations going into (the trade deadline). The (Canadiens) had made some moves before the deadline, so I wasn’t entirely surprised by the trade, but I wasn’t expecting it, to be honest. I’m excited. I’ve got an opportunity here and I’m going to run with it.”