With a thrilling Hockey Day in Canada victory versus the division rival Boston Bruins, the Ottawa Senators continue to work hard to prove they are indeed a playoff team. Now, we are here to talk about one of the key contributors to yesterday’s comeback, along with his defensive partner. Nick Jensen scored with just over three minutes to play to cut the Bruins lead to within one, and as well, we shall discuss his usual defensive partner this season, that has been Thomas Chabot. The pairing has been all that fans and management could have asked for and then some. Therefore, let’s dive in and see what makes the duo such a formidable punch to the team’s performance.
Chabot and Jensen An Excellent NHL Top-Two Defensive Pair
Before we get into their 2024-25 season play, you might have noticed last night against the Bruins, Chabot was sporting a full visor. His status for the game had been an unknown after taking a puck to the face Tuesday night against the New York Islanders. He only skated four minutes that night, and then missed Thursday’s game versus the Washington Capitals. On a side note, this did afford Donovan Sebrango the opportunity to graciously play in his first ever NHL contest. In any case, Chabot was back for yesterday’s game in Ottawa versus Boston, and the Sens needed all the help they could get. Especially after blowing an early 2-0 lead.
Thomas Chabot will not return “for precautionary reasons” #Sens
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) January 15, 2025
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This reunited the Sens 2024-25 most reliable defensive pairing of Chabot and Jensen. However, the pairing did originally come into the 2024-25 campaign with a fair bit of uncertainty. When the Sens initially acquired Nick Jensen in the offseason, much of the fanbase was in disbelief. Who was this mid-thirties veteran who was being swapped for a guy that once upon a time was at the level of Team Canada discussion in Jakob Chychrun. You know, the consumer of liver. But all Jensen has done is come in and take the bull by the horns, something that Chychrun could never really do in his time in the Canadian National capital. It is worth noting, however, that Chychrun has done just fine is his own right in his first season with the Washington Capitals. But we are here to focus on Jensen, Chabot, and the Senators.
It’s Been a Long Time Coming for Chabot
All Jensen has done, has been the reliable veteran that the Sens hoped he would be for them. He has skated hard for the team, been extremely durable, and most importantly, been the perfect fit alongside long-time Senator Thomas Chabot. Chabot has struggled throughout his NHL career with consistency. A big reason was the lack of an accountable and skilled partner. Names like Nikita Zaitsev or Ron Hainsey and many others come to mind as some of the attempts to find him a suitable linemate. Well, those excuses are a thing of the past, and given their performances this season, those excuses are not needed.
Let’s Talk Numbers
Besides their play doing the talking, how about some stats to back up the banter. As a partnership, they are in the top-ten of all NHL defence pairings with over 600 minutes played together thus far in 2024-25. That speaks to their durability as a unit.
Furthermore, they have an expected goal percentage of 52.7%, good for 53rd in the league in pairings that have played 150 minutes or more together. Now, their overall ranking in that stat is, granted, not very high. However, when you consider the amount they are on the ice, it really shows how they command the game and effectively control the rate of play. When you combine this with the fact that the pairing of Artem Zub and Jake Sanderson has an xGoals% of 57.9%, good for 15th in the league, you can begin to understand why the Sens are so confident in the alignment of their two top pairings.
Another statistic, one that is complementary to xGoals%, helps to show why Chabot and Jensen are such a dynamic duo. If we study actual goal percentage, the pair is 57.4%, good for 46th in the NHL. However, what is impressive, is given the dislocation from the xGoals% of under 53%. This shows that they are efficient in their execution. Furthermore, Chabot is more refreshed this season. He skates 22:46 minutes a night, which is down a little from his 23:53 career average. At even strength, his 1.1 points/60 minutes is somewhere around normal for him. Then again, with the emergence of Jake Sanderson, Chabot hasn’t needed to be overly offensive. Meanwhile for Jensen, his ice time is way up at 21:00 minutes a game, compared to a 18:50 career mark. Moreover, his 1.2 Pts/60 at 5v5 is much better in relation to other individual seasons throughout his career.
It’s kind of easy to say it has been a match made in Ottawa. Chabot has elevated Jensen’s overall game. In addition, Jensen has brought calm to Chabot’s game. It has paid off in the durability and efficiency in their respective games.
Started from the Bottom
The other side of this is the trickle down effect throughout the roster. The Sens have had to deal with injuries in 2024-25. Linus Ullmark has missed time, and luckily Leevi Merilainen has shown is worth as a 22-year-old netminder in the show. Also, their blueline has been banged up. Artem Zub has missed time. Currently, both Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic are on the shelf. In contrast, this has allowed Tyler Kleven as a left shot to step up his duties in the lineup. This is a huge benefit for the youngster that should not go unnoticed in his own game. Another player that has more than taken advantage of his opportunity is Nikolas Matinpalo. Between Kleven and Matinpalo, their size and physicality is a noticeable value-add to the Sens blueline.
It looks like the Sens have found a couple winners this year. Besides between the pipes, the play of Nick Jensen and his partner, Thomas Chabot, has really helped Ottawa’s team defensive structure as a whole. If the Sens can keep building on these positives, there’s no reason they can’t be playing meaningful games into late April.
Main Photo Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
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