Gaudette has `a lot of fun' in fuelling Sens' comeback

Adam Gaudette has been with the Senators for almost two months now, but fans hadn't seen or heard much from him until the weekend.

A total ice time of 16:43 in two games, with one goal, one assist and a plus/minus of minus four to show for seven weeks spent skating on the practice ice since being claimed off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks in late November.

Then came late Saturday night. Stepping in by necessity due to injuries to Connor Brown and Scott Sabourin, he helped kick-start the Senators' third period rally with a slick backhand goal and an assist on an Alex Formenton marker.

Coach D.J. Smith's chemistry experiment of putting Gaudette, Alex Formenton and Tierney together produced an unexpected goal outburst, with the trio combining for six points in a span of 2:26.

Afterward, the words came pouring out like a fountain.

“That was a hell of a lot of fun,” Gaudette told reporters. “Personally, it has been awhile since I've had that much fun playing hockey. It has been a tough year, year and a half or so, and it really feels good to contribute and help this team win. And that's what I'm here for, to do anything possible to help this team progress and win.”

The freshness of Gaudette's comments serve as a reminder that everyone, including former NCAA stars — he scored 56 goals and 112 points in his final two seasons at Northeastern University — also scramble through their own struggles.

“I feel like I'm back to myself and this is how I play,” said Gaudette, who was drafted by Vancouver and scored 12 goals and 33 points with the Canucks in 2019-20.

“It's great to get that chance and get some playing time and being able to produce because it's tough. It has been a big mental grind. Every three months we (along with wife, Micaela) were packing up and moving somewhere else, but we just stuck with it. The thing I really focused on was, what's the point in being negative about all of it. Why not try to get better and become a better person, a better hockey player through all of this adversity?

“(Micaela) and I ... I think we've done a really good job of that in keeping our spirits up and helping each other out and it's definitely helping. You can tell on the ice and I feel like I'm back to where my game should be. The only thing to go from here is up.”

WHAT NOW, IN EDMONTON?

For every winning team, there's a losing team, and the ugly oil slick in the Alberta capital has put more heat on coach Dave Tippett.

“We're just finding ways to lose,” he said.

Saturday's loss was the Oilers' sixth straight. They've dropped 12 of their past 14, with a string of COVID -19 postponements thrown in for good measure.

“I'm not sure what to tell you, it has been a long layoff coming in,” said McDavid. “We worked ourselves to a 3-1 lead and gave it away. I wish I had an answer. We were rolling along and got a couple of chances early and don't finish them and we gave up a 2-on-1 (on the Gaudette goal).”

McDavid was asked if it was the toughest regular season defeat of his career.

“It's definitely up there,” he said.

REMEMBER WHEN?

Brown's broken jaw, coming as a result of friendly fire — Thomas Chabot's shot during Thursday's pre-game warm-up deflected off the crossbar and off Brown's face — served as a reminder of another incident involving big-named Senators in December 2005. Instead of hitting the net, a Zdeno Chara slapshot caught Daniel Alfredsson in the midsection. Alfredsson, was out of the lineup for four games and 11 days with broken ribs. In his first game back, he scored two goals and two assists in a 7-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

THE AGRICULTURE REPORT

Down on the farm, the Belleville Senators completed a two-game sweep of the Rochester Amerks with a 6-5 overtime victory on Saturday.