Pageau taking big fine for Malkin shot in stride
It turned out to be a costly New Year’s Eve for Jean- Gabriel Pageau.
The veteran Ottawa Senators centre admitted surprise after being informed by general manager Pierre Dorion that he had been fined US$2,500 by the National Hockey League for a punch to the head of Penguins centre Evgeni Malkin with 19.6 seconds left in a game his team lost 5-2 in Pittsburgh on Monday night.
Malkin was slapped with the same fine for cross-checking Pageau, but the discipline still caught the 27-year-old Senator off guard because this kind of stuff has taken place in countless games before and nobody else was fined or suspended.
Pageau didn’t speak to the league after the decision.
“It’s never fun, a suspension or a fine. I went through it last year and I’m not happy about it,” Pageau said Wednesday after the Senators skated at Canadian Tire Centre. “That’s the decision and I’ve got to live with it.
“I was actually surprised. I understand their point of view but, at the same time, I think that’s something that happens every game and after every whistle. I understand that the game was over and there was no goal really behind that. It just happened. I’m just going to put it behind me, but there might be one less gift for my wife next year.”
The fracas started after Malkin became incensed with Ottawa centre J.C. Beaudin, and at one point every player on the ice was involved. By the time Malkin and Pageau clashed, players from both teams were heading their separate ways.
It almost looks as if NHL disciplinarians felt messages needed to be sent to both teams.
“There’s a little difference between a stick in the neck and a push,” Pageau said. “I haven’t had the chance to talk with the player safety department. At the same time, the game was over and I definitely could’ve not touched him and just walked away and gone home.
“There’s a lot of emotion at the end of a game and I let myself go and I got fined for it. I’m not going to say I agree, but I can’t disagree on trying to have control.”
REINFORCEMENTS ON THE WAY
The Senators could have defenceman Nikita Zaitsev back for Thursday’s home game against the Florida Panthers.
Zaitsev hasn’t played since he blocked one shot with his hand and another with his foot during a Dec. 14 matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has been skating for the past three or four days, though, and wore a full-contact jersey for Wednesday’s practice.
Zaitsev is optimistic he’ll be able to suit up against the Panthers. Despite the injuries from blocking shots, he’s not going to back away from that part of the game.
“It was really nice to skate with the boys again,” he said. “We’ll see how it feels in the morning, but today was good. It’s progress, huge progress, so hopefully I’ll play (Thursday).
Since Zaitsev is about to return, defenceman Thomas Chabot should expect to have his ice time drop back to normal levels.
“They’ll start coming down as those older guys start coming back,” Senators head coach D.J. Smith said. “They’ll go back to more feasible numbers and something he can sustain, which would be under 25 minutes a night.
SHIFTING LINES
Smith made a couple of changes to the Senators’ forward lines Wednesday, and he’s going to try them to start the game against Florida.
Brady Tkachuk, who had been skating with Pageau and Connor Brown, was moved the left side of Chris Tierney and Anthony Duclair. Nick Paul moved up from the fourth line to play with Pageau and Brown. Vladislav Namestnikov was dropped to the fourth unit.
“I’m hoping it will spark a little bit offensively,” Smith said. “With Brady going with Duke and Tierney on that line, it will give them a little more of an opportunity to score.”