Spence talks candidly about his costly turnover, taking responsibility, and the support of his teammates.
After a sparsely attended optional skate on Wednesday morning, defenseman Jordan Spence hunkered down at his stall in a quiet and relatively empty Ottawa Senators dressing room.
Four nights earlier, the young defenceman was victimized in the waning seconds of the Senators' game against the New York Islanders.
With 70 seconds left in the third period of a 4-4 game, Jean-Gabriel Pageau tried to successfully exit his zone by sending a centring pass from inside the Islanders' blue line to Anders Lee, who was skating down the middle of the ice.
The pass skipped over Lee's stick and caromed off the neutral zone boards on the right side of the ice. There, Spence unsuspectingly pivoted to his right, anticipating that the angle of the puck would be less severe. His pivot caused him to get caught flatfooted as the puck bounced off the boards and slid into the Senators' defensive end.
That moment was the opportunity Lee needed to take an inside route and turn what should have been a relatively harmless moment into a one-on-one open-ice loose puck battle.
Rather than knife at the puck and knock into a safer space that would have afforded his teammates the opportunity to come back and provide puck support, the right-shot Spence peered over his left shoulder to see where the pressure was coming from and which teammates could be available for a pass. As a right-shot, Spence allowed the puck to slide to his forehand when Lee deftly lifted Spence's stick and stripped him of the puck.
That takeaway caused Spence to temporarily lose his edge, creating the time and space that Lee needed to go in alone and beat Linus Ullmark through the five-hole.
As I approached Spence at his stall and asked if I could have a few moments of his time, he knew exactly what I wanted to talk about. Following that Islanders game, the defenceman was a scratch in the team's 3-2 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
"It always is," Spence acknowledged when describing how difficult it is to be scratched. " I want to be on the ice with the guys and try to help contribute on both ends of the ice.
"My last game, I made a huge mistake. And especially in the NHL, every point matters, even if it's just one. Obviously, turning that puck over, I have to take responsibility. I am accountable. It was my fault that we lost that game at the end there."
From his body language to his words, there is an earnestness to Spence. He genuinely believes that he cost his team the game.
Hockey is a team game, however, and his teammates have offered their support.
"Everyone's just been there for me," Spence said through a smile. "It was one mistake and it was a big mistake, but at the same time, the team and the coaches have been great. Everyone makes mistakes at one point during the season, and being able to get that support, it's great."
In the aftermath of Saturday's game, Spence has watched the highlights and replayed the Lee goal in his mind.
"I just watched the clips and everything," Spence stated. "It's always in that fraction of a second. When you look away and when you look at the puck like that, it can be the moment that you get stripped of the puck.
"Once I was going for the puck, I looked up to see if anyone was open. At the same time, I should have just skated as hard as I could and just chipped that puck because there's only a minute left in the game. I just look back and say, 'I wish I could have done that.'"
It was a crucial error at a critical moment in what was otherwise a relatively decent game for Spence.
According to Natural Stat Trick's game log, the Senators generated 62.50 percent of the shots (CF%), 52.63 percent of the shots on goal (SF%), and 58.82 percent of the scoring chances (SCF%).
It was a microcosm of Spence's season to that point. In his four games, Spence has logged 70:49 of five-on-five ice time. In those minutes, the Senators have generated 66.43 percent of the shots (CF%), 66.15 percent of the shots on goal (SF%), 57.14 percent of the total goals (GF%), and 67.20 percent of the expected goals (xGF%).
Spence has always profiled as an analytical darling, but he admits that he has not paid much attention to those metrics.
"To be honest, no," Spence stated. "When I got to the NHL, there were a lot of analytics and statistics. I try not to pay attention, but, obviously, at the same time, you want to know how you're doing and what you should improve on.
"At the end of the day, all that matters is to win games. I want to help contribute to winning games."
Conversations on analytics never extend to the coaching staff.
"We don't really talk about analytics at all," Spence said. "It's good with (Travis) Green and him being straight with me and telling me what I have to improve on and what I'm doing well
"To have that communication on both sides is important. Obviously, he watches the game from the bench. There are always some things he can pick apart and tell me what I need to improve or do better. We go on from there."
As much as Spence may believe his costly error hurt his team, he recognizes the importance of having a short memory and self-improvement.
"You have to try and forget it," he recognized. "You have to have confidence, especially if you're playing every game.
"After the game, I take a look back and see the things that I have to improve on, on the ice and during the game. The next day, you're just trying to forget it and move on, trying to become better."
There is an extra layer of maturity in the way Spence addressed his turnover.
"That mistake, I didn't do my job," Spence admitted. "In that game, there were other things that I could have done better. Obviously, just watching that clip and the game, I have analyzed what I need to improve on.
"It's frustrating not to play, but I've got to have a positive mindset, work hard and be ready when my time comes. At the end of the day, I'm just trying to be as positive as I can and work on all things when I'm on the ice. I'm trying to simplify things in a defensive zone, and that's all I can do."
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