OTTAWA — Ever since Dylan DeMello was traded to the Winnipeg Jets in 2020, Senators fans have been begging the team to find an ideal partner for Thomas Chabert. With DeMello by his side, Chabot burst onto the scene in 2018 with a 55-point performance — 19.
The team looks for solutions.
In Ottawa’s 3-0 win over Seattle, Jansen showed off all the subtleties he brings to help the Senators win hockey games.
When Jansen was acquired by Chickrun from Washington this summer, the consensus was that the Senators were giving up a great player on the cheap. The 33-year-old Jansen scored a career-high 29 points, compared to the talented 26-year-old Chichren, who was the leading 20-goal scorer among front guards.
But hockey is about more than just talent. It’s about fit. Sometimes, a deal can be a win-win.
Chychrun scored at a ridiculously high rate in Washington, while Jensen brought stability next to Chabot.
“Honestly, I felt like we found chemistry early on,” Jansen told Sportsnet.ca in November. “I think our mentality is very similar. He wants to skate, he wants to compete, he wants the puck, he wants to work. I think those are the same ingredients in my game as well.”
“So whenever I get the puck, he’s always trying to find a spot to get the puck. Whenever he gets the puck with that guy on his back, I’m trying to find a spot to help him.”
Jansen’s excellent defensive awareness masks Chabot’s defensive weaknesses. He is a very good ball handler and can get involved in the offense when needed, scoring 13 points in 31 games.
On the first play of Tuesday night’s game against the Kraken, Chabot intercepted the puck in the neutral zone and rushed up the ice because he knew Jansen had his back; when the Kraken finally rushed the ball in transition Back in, Jansen quickly stifled their offense. It has become a read and reaction for the duo.
Of all pairings at five-on-five in Ottawa this season, the duo has the Senators’ best field goal percentage (55.17 percent) and best expected goals percentage at 55.77 percent. When the two played together, the Senators outscored their opponents 28-18 at five-on-five.
In acquiring Jensen for Chychrun, Ottawa general manager Steve Staios was looking for a consistent, skilled defender who could pair well with Chabot.
“Nick (has) accomplished everything we wanted (him) to bring (to Ottawa),” Staos said. “These are difficult deals to make and you need to predict what you think will happen.”
“He’s a true pro. He’s raised the level of professionalism on our team and certainly the level of competition, as you see every shift he plays. I think Chabot benefits from that as well.”
Jensen and Chabot have been together since the start of training camp, except for a few games in November when Artem Zub missed a few games with a foot injury.
They are soon reunited as each struggles on their own.
“I think we just got to know each other really well. I mean, we both have the ability to skate with it. We both have the ability to create plays,” Chabot said of the connection between him and Jansen.
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Chabot has been a negative player throughout his career, never posting a plus-minus in his first seven seasons in the NHL. But things have changed: He’s +12 on the season, while Jansen is +15. Chabot, meanwhile, is posting career bests and leads the team in shot share (57.58%) and expected goals share (59.04%), according to Natural Stat Trick (minimum 100 minutes). The Senators beat Seattle 26-15 on Tuesday when the two were paired together.
Just ask the coach and he will give you the answer.
“He was a real surprise,” Travis Green said of Jansen’s matchup with Chabot earlier this season.
Defensively, Janssen performed well, ranking 186th out of 531 goals scored with an expected goals against per 60 minutes of 2.36.
In the second period against Seattle, Jensen deftly took the puck from Brandon Montour in his own zone, spun it under oncoming Kraken pressure, and quickly found Zach Os Tapchuk, who started a transition opportunity that ended with a goal from Noah Gregor. Rewritten the score to 2-0.
The duo has led and been part of a Senators team that has allowed zero goals through two periods 10 times this season, including Tuesday, and has happened in six of the last seven games. Condition.
Even though the two have only played 31 games together, it looks like they’ve been on the blue line for years.
Off the ice, however, adjusting to Ottawa was more difficult for Jansen. In September, he and his wife, Jenner, welcomed a baby boy, Otto, bringing the Jensen family to five, as well as two other sons, Lorenzo and Leon. . Jansen’s wife and children had only recently returned home to Minnesota due to a summer trade.
“It’s hard because my family isn’t here and they can’t be here full-time,” Jensen said in November.
Jensen FaceTimes his wife and children every day. They plan to settle in Ottawa soon. They were in town earlier last week, and Brady Tkachuk hoisted Lorenzo and Leon on his shoulders to watch their father talk to the media amid the postgame media chaos.
Ottawa is slowly becoming a home for Jansen, and Ottawa has finally found their full-time defenseman to play alongside Chabot.
Don’t get it crooked. Jansen can also attack, but that’s not his focus.
“I’m not really worried about whether I’m going to get points,” Jensen said. “I do believe you play the game the right way, with confidence and work ethic, and you bring that with you every night, and the points will come. If you think about it too much, you start to only focus on the points, and it won’t It’s a good result, that’s my mentality.”
Last week against Carolina, Jansen scored a crucial second goal in the third period to give the Senators a victory. Then against Pittsburgh, Janssen and Chabot faced off multiple times, culminating in a good cycle game with Chabot scoring on a return pass from Claude Giroux. Jansen’s offensive instincts helped him beat Chabot and put him on pace to record a career-high in points.
In the past, the Senators would bring in big-name players like Alex DeBrincat, Jacob Chikron and Vladimir Tarasenko, all of whom were extremely talented but didn’t quite satisfy a team. A need for a team already loaded with offensive firepower.
Jensen summed up Ottawa’s performance this season. Continuing to play strong two-way hockey, leadership, competitiveness and addressing gaps on the team.
Question: The Senators need a top-four right-shooting backstop to replace Thomas Chabot.
