Senators Artcles: Leading the March; B-Sens' Vermette having good month with 7 goals in last 5 games
March 23, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Scott Lauber of Press Connects.com

Leading the March

B-Sens' Vermette having good month with 7 goals in last 5 games

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

BINGHAMTON -- John Paddock has seen this before.

Two seasons ago, when the Binghamton Senators last won the AHL's East Division crown, center Antoine Vermette was their leading scorer in March with 11 goals en route to an impressive rookie total of 34.

It's March again, Vermette's back in the AHL, and he's heating up once more.

Including his go-ahead goal late in the third period Saturday night against the Philadelphia Phantoms, Vermette has seven goals and five assists in the last five games, and after an inconsistent middle of the season, is one point shy of matching his career-high of 62 points from 2002-03.

"Certainly, his offensive play has picked up over the past few weeks," Paddock, the Senators' co-coach, said of Vermette, who endured separate goal droughts of six, seven and eight games since early December. "The puck seems to be following him around and it's going in."

One explanation for Vermette's offensive revival may be that he is once again playing center, his natural position and the spot where he feels the most comfortable. Skating between high-scoring winger Denis Hamel and power forward Josh Langfeld, Vermette is creating and receiving scoring chances and taking advantage when those opportunities arise.

But he's also playing with a renewed focus since the NHL season was canceled. Slated to skate in Ottawa this season, Vermette was among the Senators most preoccupied by the on-again, off-again labor talks that ultimately broke down Feb. 19.

"Definitely, I've been able to get my mind more focused and ready," said Vermette, who has piled up nine goals and seven assists in 11 games since those last-ditch negotiations failed. "This is the best time to get it going since we're getting ready for the playoff race."

The emergence of Vermette's line -- and the hard-working third line of center Pat Kavanagh and wingers Charlie Stephens and Chris Neil -- has made the Senators' already formidable offense even more dangerous.

As long as Vermette, Hamel and Langfeld are scoring goals, they alleviate pressure from "The 9-10-11 Line" of Jason Spezza, Brandon Bochenski and Chris Kelly (who wear uniform numbers 9, 10 and 11).

Hamel leads the Senators with 32 goals, including the overtime game-winner Saturday, and has produced all season and with a myriad of linemates. But Vermette's streak has coincided with a resurgent Langfeld, who has five goals and two assists in the last seven games.

"Obviously, you need goals from everybody and you need goals at key times, but if (Vermette's) line is producing at a high enough rate, teams have to be concerned about them just as much as they do about Spezza's line," Paddock said. "It makes us that much better."

SIGN OF RESPECT

Few teams have the offensive might to stand toe-to-toe with the Senators, who feature six players with 20 goals or more. The fast-paced opening minutes of Saturday's overtime left Phantoms coach John Stevens with an ominous feeling about the eventual outcome.

"It was an end-to-end track meet, and most of the time, we're not going to beat that team in that instance," he said.

Meanwhile, Paddock was pleased with the Senators' response to being challenged physically by the Phantoms in the first period. Within the opening 3:21, enforcer Brian McGrattan and rookie tough guy Danny Bois dropped the gloves with Philadelphia's Josh Gratton and Riley Cote.

"I don't think the fights set a tone necessarily, but it let them know we were here to play," Paddock said. "It showed we weren't going to be pushed around physically."

SLAP SHOTS

McGrattan's fight left him with 463 penalty minutes, 60 shy of breaking Dennis Bonvie's AHL single-season record. ... Spezza has points in eight straight games (one goal, 12 assists) and leads the league with 95 points (26 goals, 69 assists). The last AHL player to score 100 points in a season was Hartford's Derek Armstrong in 2000-01. ... The Senators are idle until Saturday when they visit the Norfolk Admirals for the first of back-to-back East Division showdowns.