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Mark Borowiecki is as honest as the Ottawa Senators season is long.
If there any criticisms being hurled towards Senators fans for being too quiet — you could have heard a puck drop for much of Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames at Canadian Tire Centre — Borowiecki says they’re misplaced.
“We’ve got to give the fans something to cheer about and we didn’t give fans much,” he said. “We can’t expect fans to be jumping around and going nuts when we’re out there going through the motions. Us, as players, we’ll take accountability for that.”
FINDING MOMENTUM: When the Senators cranked up their game in the final minutes, including Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s penalty shot goal, the fans woke up, too.
“You saw us push back a little in the first period and really controlled play in the second and pushed in the third,” Borowiecki said. “It’s on us to create energy.”
While Borowiecki says it can be difficult for the Senators to find the same motivation as teams pushing for the post season — the Florida Panthers, Monday’s opponents, will be in the same position as the Flames were on Friday — they have to discover their edge however they can.
IN PRAISE OF CONDON: The Senators might have been dead and buried early on against the Flames if not for goaltender Mike Condon, who is stuck on four wins for the season. “When you’ve got a goalie in their battling the way he was (Friday night), that has to light a little fire under your rear end,” Borowiecki said. “You have to use that. Sometimes, in a situation like this, you might have to search for motivation, and that’s a perfect example there. As a teammate, you’ve got to look at that guy laying it all on the line and say, ‘Hey, now it’s my turn to pick it up.’ ”
FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER: The in-house Kiss Cam, which prompts couples to show some love for each other during breaks in the action on the ice, might have wanted to focus on Flames goaltender David Rittich. He showed his thanks for his true love — the goal posts — by kissing them after shots from Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith clanged off the iron and stayed out.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the Senators watches the puck hit the back of the net after he scores against Flames netminder on a third-period penalty shot on Friday night.Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photo / Getty Images
UNANIMOUS DECISION: Speaking of Rittich, when Pageau was seeking opinions on where to shoot on his penalty-shot attempt, he was left with little doubt.
“Matt Duchene told me to go five-hole,” Pageau said. “I’m glad that, when I came to the bench, a couple of other players that were there also told me to five-hole. If I had gone to the bench and somebody had said go ‘high glove,’ or another guy said go ‘backhand,’ I would have been confused. They made it easy for me.”
Pageau, who has three goals in his past five games, had five shots on goal against Calgary, bringing his two-game total to 13.
THAT GIVING SPIRIT: Congratulations to fans for donating $100,885 in Friday’s Ottawa Senators Foundation Telethon … Based on a glimpse of the telethon during one intermission, Senators defenceman Chris Wideman looks poised to step into broadcasting when his playing career has ended.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: On Friday, the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators lost 4-3 in overtime after Laval took advantage of a penalty for too many men penalty on the ice. Clearly, there’s too many too many men penalties down there, too … Belleville’s Ben Sexton continued his late-season surge with a goal and an assist, while Gabriel Gagné scored his team-high 18th goal of the season on an assist from Colin White. Filip Chlapik, who could also figure into the conversation for a full-time NHL spot with Ottawa next season, had two assists. Chlapik has eight goals and 17 assists in 47 games with Belleville.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNES: The Senators will fly to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday head of Monday’s game against the Panthers. The last time the Senators faced Florida, on Dec. 23, they were only three points behind in the standings. Since then, the Panthers are 19-9-2 and the Senators are 12-19-3.
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