WARREN’s PIECE
Smith, Borowiecki close to returns, so it’s not all bad news for the Senators ... Boro’s not promising to be the ‘silver bullet’ ... Athanasiou sure can motor, Zetterberg marvels
The mood wasn't all doom and gloom in the Senators dressing room yesterday.
Left winger Zack Smith and defenceman Mark
Borowiecki are both closing in on returning to the lineup.
Smith, who has been out of the lineup since suffering a shoulder injury againast Tampa, could be back as soon as today against the San Jose Sharks.
“I'm hoping to maybe play this weekend at some time,” Smith said. “I'm still going to wait until (today) to make that call, but it was the first day with contact and it felt pretty good.”
Smith says it's a helpless feeling, unable to do anything while watching his teammates struggle.
“You want to get back, you want to help the team. It's tough (being out), especially if they're losing. Even though it's not fun, you want to be a part of it and get back and hopefully make a difference. That's kind of where my head is at right now.”
BOROWIECKI SEES LIGHT
Borowiecki has had some rough days since losing consciousness on the ice against the New York Rangers on Nov. 19, but he says the concussion symptoms disappeared during the Christmas break. On Wednesday, he passed his neuro-psych test on Wednesday, clearing him for full contact at practice. His goal is to return to the Senators lineup either Jan. 9 against Chicago or Jan. 10 versus Toronto.
“It's not set in stone, and it can be flexible based on how I'm feeling,” said Borowiecki, who will play with a tinted visor because to deal with the brightness of the lights inside arenas. “I've come this far, I don't want to rush it, but that would be a perfect world.”
GIVING THANKS TO SMITH
Borowiecki hasn't watched a replay of the incident, which resulted from colliding with the Rangers' Brendan Smith and slamming into the boards as both chased a loose puck in the New York zone. He has no ill will towards Smith, thanking him for checking in on him immediately after the game.
As for possibly being able to make a difference in the Senators lineup because of his physical game, Borowiecki says he hopes he can make a difference somehow.
“Am I saying am I the silver bullet for all our struggles? Absolutely not, but I know what I bring, what I do and how I handle myself. I can hopefully help contribute and help get ourselves out of this mess, here.”.
For what it's worth, the Senators have gone 4-12-3 without him.
FAST TIMES IN DETROIT
The song Greased Lightning blares from the public address system at Little Caesars Arena every time speedster Andreas
Athanasiou does something special. The song was pumping after he scored six seconds into overtime to defeat the Senators Wednesday, tying Mats Sundin, Alex Ovechkin and David Legwand for the fastest extra time goal in NHL history. It was his fourth, maybe fifth, breakaway of the night. “I don't know how many breakaways (Athanasiou and Dylan Larkin) had, probably double the amount I've had in my whole career,” Red Wings centre Henrik
Zetterberg said … Andreas Athanasiou is a great name, but it's not quite as great as
Ariadni Athanassiadis, the name of the incredibly bright girl who had all the correct answers in our Grade 7 class at D. Aubrey Moodie.
ALL ABOUT JERSEYS
Watching a Senators jersey being thrown on the ice by a disgusted fan following the Senators 5-0 loss to Boston on Dec. 30 wasn't a pleasant experience for anyone in the organization. “The way I look at it, it's one person throwing a jersey on the ice,” said Smith. If we took into account the opinion of every single fan, I don't think that would be very productive. We understand their frustrations. If (fans) think they're frustrated, then they can imagine how it is around here right now. We're doing all we can to change that and win some games here.” ... The Senators, who defeated the Montreal Canadiens while wearing their throwback duds in the outdoor game on Dec. 16, will wear the heritage uniforms six more times at home this season. The next occasion is tomorrow against Tampa, followed by Jan. 18 against St. Louis, Jan. 20 versus Toronto, Jan. 25 with Boston in town, Feb. 1 against Anaheim, Feb. 8 versus Kyle
Turris and Nashville and Feb. 17 when the New York Rangers come to Canadian Tire Centre…Good things are finally happening for Gabriel Gagne, once considered a longshot part of the Jason Spezza trade to Dallas. Gagne, who was selected with the 36th overall selection the Senators picked up in the 2015 draft — part of the Spezza swap — scored the shootout winner in Belleville's 3-2 AHL win over Binghamton Wednesday.
Yesterday, Gagne was named to the AHL All-Star team. Gagne leads Belleville with 12 goals in 34 games … Marcus Hogberg is now 2-0-0 in the AHL.
Hogberg made 35 saves in Belleville's victory over Binghamton.