Monday workload includes tough skate
82-minute practice was to be expected, Spezza says
The Ottawa Senators on Monday had one of their longer practices in some time: 82 minutes. It was especially heavy on skating — back and forth, back and forth — which might have been expected after Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers and a day off on Sunday.
The players accepted it as a traditional Monday “work” day. “When you get three days in between (games) with a day off, I think you have to work, you have to have a work day,” captain Jason Spezza said.
“I think if we won that game (on Saturday), we would have had the same practice. I think maybe (coach Paul MacLean) barked a little more because we lost that game, but today has to be a work day, and we’ve always had Mondays as a work day, primarily.”
MacLean said he wasn’t trying to send a message with a session so long and intense, though he did say that how the team was playing at a particular time usually dictated how long these work days lasted. This time, he said, there were things that Senators players needed to work on. “We just tried to be the coach and make sure that we did things right,” MacLean said.
MAINTENANCE DAY
Chris Phillips was the only player missing from Monday’s practice. He was given a “maintenance” day and should be fine, MacLean said. Fellow defenceman Erik Karlsson skated through practice without a protective visor on his helmet. That didn’t signal a change, though. Karlsson will still wear a visor during games.
PAGEAU LOOKS FOR RETURN
After being scratched on Saturday and replaced in the lineup by Derek Grant, centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau looked at Monday’s practice as the first step toward regaining his roster spot.
“For myself, I know I can be better in the faceoff (circle) and be a harder worker,” Pageau said.
“It starts in practice. I’m just trying to give a little bit more each day and that’s what I did (Monday) morning.
“It’s a very tough league. I’ve been working very hard to get here, but nothing’s guaranteed. I need to work hard everyday.”