Life as Panther OK for ex-Sen
Faces former team for first time
SUNRISE, SUNRISE, Fla Fla Jesse Winchester couldn’t resist the joke at his own expense.
Asked if he might do anything different while playing against his former Ottawa Senators teammates for the first time on Tuesday night, Winchester replied, “Ah … keep my elbows down.”
That, of course, was in reference to a three-game suspension he received for elbowing Chris Kelly of the Boston Bruins last month, the same Chris Kelly he shared a dressing room with in Ottawa. That suspension cost Winchester a chance to play against the Senators when the Florida Panthers, his new team, visited Canadian Tire Centre on Nov. 9.
Other than that, Winchester has seemingly done little wrong since earning a spot on the Panthers’ roster out of training camp despite the disadvantage of having a twoway contract: $600,000 in the NHL, $125,000 in the minors. He has earned raves from new coach Peter Horachek and former coach Kevin Dineen for his consistent, determined work ethic as a fourth-line centre and penalty killer.
Winchester also had four goals and four assists in 21 games before facing off against the Senators on Tuesday.
After dealing with major concussion problems in Ottawa in 2011-12, Winchester couldn’t find an NHL job during the lockout-shortened 2013 season, but worked his way back this season after enjoying success with two teams in Finland.
“It got me back on the map,” said Winchester, a 30-year-old Long Sault native who originally signed with the Senators as a free agent in 2008 and spent four seasons with Ottawa.
“I was happy playing a game I love at a high level. It gave me a better perspective and a good mindset set going into the summer, working my way back. It took a long time (to get comfortable). Not so much the concussion symptoms; they were gone. It was getting ready to get involved in situations you have to deal with in order to play. You have to put yourself in harm’s way.”
Horachek said Winchester was a role model for the style he wanted all Panthers to play.
“He’s not afraid to go into the hard areas,” Horachek said. “He’s pretty good on the walls. Before I got here, he was one of the players who was doing what he needed to do and living up to his responsibilities.”
While Winchester’s first game against his old team didn’t carry quite the same hype as Daniel Alfredsson’s, he acknowledged it brought back countless memories.
“It was special to break into the league with them and spend more exciting years there,” he said. “There are a lot of good friends. It was close to home, there were so many supporters. It was a great experience, but this one is, too.”
There are a few fringe benefits as well. When he talked to his parents back home on Tuesday morning, they told him about freezing rain. When the Panthers’ morning skate ended, he left the arena and walked into Florida sunshine and a temperature of 27 C.
GOALIE REUNION ON TAP
Senators netminder Robin Lehner figures he’ll touch base with Ben Bishop at some point Wednesday, in advance of Thursday’s game between the Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
They remained friends even as they battled for playing time with the Ottawa and Binghamton Senators before Bishop was traded to Tampa for Cory Conacher last season.
Bishop has taken full advantage of his chance to become a No. 1 goaltender. Through Monday’s games, he was tied for third in the NHL with 14 victories and ranked ninth in goals-against average (2.08) and 11th in save percentage (.931).
Lehner’s .933 save percentage was eighth among NHL goalies.
KULIKOV SITS
Florida defenceman Dmitry Kulikov has some idea what Ottawa’s Jared Cowen went through last week.
A mainstay on the Panthers’ defence for the past couple seasons, Kulikov was a healthy scratch on Tuesday night because Horachek had grown impatient with his mistakes.
Kulikov, 23, was drafted 14th overall in 2009, five spots after the Senators chose Cowen.
Cowen was a healthy scratch last Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks and only played Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings because Marc Methot had the flu.