A longer than usual Senators practice at the Bell Sensplex on Monday was punctuated by the sound of fibreglass snapping.
The culprit, Linus Ullmark, had been backstopping Team White during a lengthy and physical 2-on-2 small area battle drill and had just given up the winning goal to Team Black.
He took out his frustration on his lumber, snapping his stick over his pad as his compatriots in white began to skate lines. It was an intense moment in what was a practice full of them.
The Sens haven’t displayed much of that same edge in practice as of late. Rest has been the name of the game in a condensed Olympic schedule, particularly in a busy October which included seven games in 12 days closed by a trip to Montreal on Saturday night.
But Travis Green was finally able to take advantage of three days in Ottawa between that Montreal trip and the team’s flight to Boston on Wednesday afternoon and set up shop at centre ice, first at the team’s practice facility on Monday and then back at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday for lengthy tune-ups.
“We’ve had quite a run,” acknowledged Green after Monday’s skate. “We’ve had a lot of hockey, be good to get a little reset... a good practice today to work on a few different things, and kind of get reset to start playing a lot of games again.”
Wednesday’s practice didn’t offer quite the same competitiveness and physicality on display, with more of a focus on systems. The team worked on more 5-on-5 scenarios and, for about 20 minutes, the penalty kill and power play, with Green reinforcing details throughout the session.
Joining the usual contingent of spectators at practice was an assortment of fathers, who will join the team on the trip to Boston and Philadelphia.
“Obviously really special for the whole group,” said Tim Stützle. “For me, I’m excited to see all of the dads too. I keep in contact with a couple of them, they love hockey as much as we do, and so it’s awesome to have their support,” adding that the team is well aware it’s still a business trip but that their presence will give the group an extra push.
“At the end of the day, it was our parents who got us here,” said Jordan Spence. “And for them to experience this together and kind of experience what our day-to-day life is, it’s always cool to kind of show them that and also have fun with them off the ice.”
Thursday’s affair in Beantown kicks off a run of six games in 10 days, including a four-game homestand beginning on Sunday night against Utah. The Senators will look to carry over the same edge shown by their netminder on Monday into that demanding schedule.
