SENATORS’ TOP PROSPECTS PICK UP THE PACE
Formenton, Chlapik impress coach in pre-season loss to Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks sent an unreasonable facsimile of an NHL team to Ottawa, but the most intriguing battles for the Senators in Friday’s 5-2 win/ loss were the head-to-head duels among top prospects.
Alex Formenton, locked in a battle with Drake Batherson for a winger spot, opened the contest with a dazzling display of speed, scoring the game-opening goal and creating numerous other chances. Formenton’s speed also helped set up a two-on-one short-handed break where Matt Duchene was robbed by Blackhawks goaltender Collin Delia.
At centre, Logan Brown, under the gun to catch up to Filip Chlapik, delivered his best performance of the pre-season. Brown was at his best on the power play, capitalizing on his reach and vision to find open players. He rang a shot off the crossbar with eight minutes remaining and created numerous chances late in the game.
But Senators coach Guy Boucher also liked the consistency of Chlapik from start to finish.
“Two guys that come to mind for me were Chlapik and Formenton, from beginning to end. Push hard, not change their game, stay strong and make strong plays,” said Boucher.
“You’re looking at young guys and you want to see them evolve and improve as the camp goes on. (Formenton) is not just fast now. He’s got good vision, he’s making plays, things he couldn’t do last year, making terrific passes, going to the net, scoring. I think defensively he’s better than he was in previous games, too.”
Both are expected to play again Saturday against the Canadiens in Montreal and it’s entirely possible that one of the two will be assigned to Belleville of the AHL on Sunday based on their showings.
“Right away, shape-wise, it tells you where they are,” Boucher said of the challenge facing Brown and Chlapik in playing on consecutive nights. “Stamina, mental toughness … you get a lot of information from it.”
There’s only so much the Senators can take from a game against a Blackhawks squad that featured only a handful of players with NHL experience. The six players in Chicago’s starting lineup had a grand total of 13 regular-season games to their names.
Pre-season or not, though, there should be some concern about letting the game get away against a largely no-name lineup.
The Senators dominated early, receiving goals from Formenton and Duchene — on a power play — but faded late.
Luke Johnson scored on a power play late in the first period and Dominik Kahun tied the game 2-2, beating Senators goaltender Mike Condon on the last of the nine shots he faced.
Filip Gustavsson, who holds the promise of being the Senators’ goaltender of the future, allowed third-period goals to Marcus Kruger, Andreas Martinsen and John Hayden in his NHL pre-season debut.
At some point on the weekend, Gustavsson is expected to be assigned to either Belleville or Brampton of the ECHL. CHABOT IN THE SPOTLIGHT: NHL life has come fast for Thomas Chabot. A year ago at this time, there was no room for him.
Fast forward to Friday night, when he was quarterbacking the first power-play unit and anchoring the first pairing on defence.
As much as Chabot doesn’t want to get ahead of himself and wants to skate away from comparisons to Erik Karlsson, he’s the new No. 1 defenceman.
“In the summer, Guy (Boucher) gave me a few calls and told me to get ready and have a good summer and he was expecting me to have a bigger role,” said Chabot. “I had it on my mind all summer and I was getting ready for that, but I’m just trying to prove myself again. I’ve only been here for 50 games. It’s not like I’m a 600-game NHL vet.”
He is, indeed, humble. He has actually played in 64 games. WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN: In yet another hockey-is-a-small world story, Mikkel Boedker, Matt Duchene’s right-hand man to start the game Friday, assisted on Duchene’s controversial 30th goal when both were with Colorado in 2015-16. Avalanche coach Patrick Roy ripped into Duchene for celebrating what he felt was a meaningless goal in a long line of losses. Years later, though, Boedker is taking the side of his new/ old linemate over his old coach. “You score a goal, you celebrate, regardless of the score, I think,” said Boedker. “Soccer players take their shirt off and celebrate that way. If you score 30, that’s a milestone that you can bring with you.”
SIGN OF THE TIMES: At the risk of reading too much into really big posters, Colin White is part of the Ottawa Rising marquee outside Gate 1. And if White has the inside track on a permanent spot in the lineup, does he fit better as a centre or a winger? In that regard, it was intriguing to see that Zack Smith moved back to left wing from the middle Friday ... So, the London Knights are ranked second in the Canadian Hockey League’s rankings at the start of the season. Is there an assumption that Formenton and/ or Brady Tkachuk will end up in the OHL at some point?
WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND: Batherson’s father, Norm, was in Senators training camp in 1993 before playing the entire season with the club’s then-AHL affiliate in Charlottetown. “He might have some old sticks and stuff like that,” the younger Batherson said. Back then, of course, the Senators played out of the Civic Centre.
Batherson’s uncle, tough guy Dennis Vial, played five seasons with the Senators, registering 276 penalty minutes in 1995-96.