BY DEREK CARSON – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
On Thursday night, Ottawa Senators fans had the privilege and honour to celebrate the career of their stalwart defenceman Chris “Big Rig” Phillips.
It was Phillips’ 1000th game of his career, the entirety of which has been with the Sens, an increasing rarity in the business of hockey, but something Sens fans have been blessed with twice now.
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Phillips isn’t an offensive defenceman, he doesn’t have the hands for it, even though Jacques Martin made him play forward during his first season with the Senators (an interesting experiment to say the least).
What the Big Rig does have, however, is the ability to shut down the best players in the game. He’s always out there against the Crosbys, the Ovechkins, and the Kovalchuks. Whenever it’s mentioned that this great player or that great player has struggled against Ottawa during their career, you know it’s in no small part because of Chris Phillips.
What Phillips also has is heart and character. On Thursday night, as we were celebrating his milestone, the Sens were in a slump – a seven game losing streak. We needed to stop the bleeding before our playoff hopes were crushed. Who stepped up that night? The Big Rig.
The man with the heart of gold and hands of stone scored two goals that night, one of which was the game winner. He gave the crowd something to cheer about and he put our team back on track.
Honestly, Sens fans have it so good, sometimes I think we forget. Both Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Phillips have now played 1,000 games each for the franchise and have spent their entire NHL careers in Ottawa; only 47 players in the history of the league have done this, and two of them have done it with Ottawa.
What’s more is that both these men are quality individuals, giving back to the community as much as they can and leading by example on the ice, in the locker room and in their day-to-day lives. For a franchise that’s only 20 years old, we’re sure into building legacies.
On Thursday night, Chris Phillips reminded me what it means to be a Sens fan. Congratulations Big Rig, we love ya buddy.
Chris Phillips by the numbers:
**Born March 9, 1978
**Drafted 1st overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 1996 Entry Draft
**Played his first season with the Senators in 1997/98
**Has 62 goals and 190 assists for 252 points in 1,000 regular season games
**Has six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 97 playoff games
**Has two years left on his contract after this season with a cap hit of $3,083,333
**Wears number four on his jersey
**Beloved by 1,000,000 Ottawa Senators fans
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