D.J. Smith: "We'll keep tinkering with it until we get the right combination."
D.J. Smith: "We'll keep tinkering with it until we get the right combination."
Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith is already doing a little experimenting with his power play personnel, at least at practice.
At practice Tuesday, Smith opted to use Jake Sanderson as the quarterback on his top unit. So long as he's been healthy, that's usually been a spot reserved for Thomas Chabot. But in the early going, as he did a lot of nights last season, Sanderson has outplayed Chabot.
In the first three games, Chabot has seen the lion's share of ice time (a club-high 25:25 per night) and the top unit power play time. But right now, he stands with zero points. And despite the Sens 2-1 record, Chabot has also been part of a number of noticeable defensive breakdowns.
Sanderson on the other hand, has been a second-unit option, getting 22:32 TOI per night (some of that killing penalties) and has three points.
Certainly, you don't make decisions based on a tiny, three-game sample size. But this is a comparison that tracks back to last season. It might just be a simple experiment at practice, but it's at least proof that Smith is thinking about a shuffle.
"I think there's no secret that (first) unit hasn't been as crisp as we'd like them to be," Smith told the media after practice. "The other unit scored some goals. I think we gotta try some different combinations...We need that power play to go and we'll keep tinkering with it until we get the right combination."
While Sanderson may end up manning the top power-play unit, he and Artem Zub will also be tasked with being the shutdown unit against Alex Ovechkin's line when the Washington Capitals visit Wednesday night. It would appear Chabot's time as Ottawa's clear cut number one defenceman may be nearing its end.
Practice Notes: Tim Stutzle missed practice, taking what the club called a maintenance day. That allowed the recovering Josh Norris to get some power play reps in his place. There's still no word on when Norris will return to action, but Smith said it could be "any game now."