Ottawa Senators: Don’t Worry About Jean-Gabriel Pageau
The Ottawa Senators will have to wait for Pageau to return to his 30-plus point form.
52 games into the season, the Ottawa Senators have performed admirably from an offensive point of view.
With 159 goals scored, the Sens are averaging 3.06 goals per game, tied for 12th in the NHL. That’s a nice step up from last year when the team finished the season averaging 2.69 goals per game. But a piece missing from that increase in production has been Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Pageau has only played in 10 games this season, making his return to the lineup on January 6th after suffering a torn Achilles Tendon on September 14th. In those 10 games he has registered just one goal, but after such a devastating injury it’s going to take a little more time for Pageau to get back to normal.
Full Recoveries Take Time
The Achilles Tendon is the muscle that attaches the calf muscles to the heel bone. It’s also the strongest tendon in the human body, meaning it takes some strenuous work to tear and just as much work to recover from an injury of that nature.
After his surgery and the rehab affiliated with it, Pageau now has to get back into the swing of things. It’s probably why he has been sheltered on the third line instead of moving up to the second line where he could have more of an impact.
The 26-year old has scored 10-plus goals in four-consecutive seasons; and with how much the Sens have improved offensively it would be a safe bet saying Pageau would have reached that mark for the fifth straight year had he not been struck down in September.
The most important part of his recovery is getting his legs back under him. Hockey is one of the fastest sports in the world. So many things happen in just a few short moments that if you aren’t at the optimal physical condition then the game will pass you by. Given time, Pageau will adjust to the game around him and get back into his groove.
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Yes, the main issues for the Ottawa Senators are in net and on defense, but there is no such thing as too much scoring in the NHL. Pageau is a great depth scorer and is solid to have in the faceoff circle (59% of his career zone starts have been in the defensive zone). He should be back to his normal self and be a solid producer on the team before the month is over.