NEW YORK – If Jean-Gabriel Pageau hasn’t returned your congratulatory text, he has a good excuse.
He had no reason to anticipate the good fortune that was arriving on Saturday afternoon because he dropped his phone and broke it prior to scoring four times in a wild 6-5 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 2.
“Tough luck,” said Pageau. “I had a lot of messages I couldn’t answer. Hopefully they’ll reach me on social media or something.”
In fact, his top priority following Monday’s practice at Madison Square Garden was venturing out in Manhattan to find a new device.
Perhaps that bit of bad luck helped keep the Ottawa-born, Gatineau-raised centre grounded after his historic performance. He became the first player in Senators history to score four goals in a playoff game, and just the sixth NHLer to accomplish the feat since the franchise was reborn in 1992.
And yet, you’d think he was just coming off any old game the way he spoke 40 hours later.
“Obviously breaking my phone was good so I could turn the page pretty quick – not getting messages from friends,” he joked. “I was even more happy that we won the game. I think you score goals, and if we would have lost the game, it would have changed everything.”
They took a 2-0 series lead because of him.
The Senators shot themselves in the foot repeatedly on Saturday afternoon. They failed to even record a shot on three first-period power plays, and even worse, allowed the Rangers to score twice while short-handed.
They trailed 5-3 when Pageau scored his second and third goals a little more than two minutes apart, the last of which tied it up with goalie Craig Anderson on the bench. His fourth goal came in double overtime and completed a natural hat trick, with Pageau completely closing his eyes while beating Henrik Lundqvist to the glove side off the rush.
“To get four like that, like I don’t even know what to say,” said teammate Clarke MacArthur. “It was just an incredible night for him. I mean he’s a legend forever with a game like that, I would say. In my mind, anyway.”
Erik Karlsson, a two-time Norris Trophy winner and the heart and soul of this Senators team, said it’s possible Pageau might eventually warrant a statue.
The 24-year-old is a shutdown centre and top penalty killer who scored just 12 times in 82 regular-season games this season. He’s now up to five in the eight playoff games so far.
“He’s born and raised in Ottawa,” said Karlsson. “He’s someone who really cares about the game, cares about his city and his teammates. I think that’s how he earned a spot in this team. That’s the way he’s been presenting himself day in and day out, and not only in a game like last game.”
His celebrity is on the rise in his hometown.
On Sunday, the Wellington Diner unveiled the “Pageau 4444” breakfast: Four eggs, four sausages, four slices of bacon, four pieces of ham, home fries, two slices of toast and a single French toast … all for $14.99.
“Oh, I saw it,” said Pageau, when asked about the combo. “It’s a little too big. I don’t think I can eat all that. It’s pretty cool they did it.”
He’d rather stick to his usual pre-game meal of chicken parmesan. He had two servings of that before the 3 p.m. puck drop in Game 2 and was initially concerned he’d eaten too much.
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Now he’s rethinking the fuelling strategy for Game 3 on Tuesday night.
“It’s a 7 o’clock game so I might have more,” said Pageau.
His story is one of those that come around every so often in the Stanley Cup playoffs when a role player does something to attract considerably more attention than usual.
Quietly and without much acclaim, Pageau was a “jack of all trades” for the Senators this season, according to head coach Guy Boucher.
“He’s such an open individual,” said Boucher. “A lot of guys [will say] ‘OK, I’ll do what you want coach, but.’ This guy, there’s no but. It’s ‘what do you need, OK,’ and then no question, there’s no why.
“That’s why I always say he’s the perfect soldier.”
Pageau wasn’t even a major goal producer in junior hockey – “I consider myself lucky to be here today,” he said – and has built a career on taking care of the small details on the ice.
So, while teammates were thrilled to see him get rewarded, no one saw a game like that coming.
“Well, I’d be stupid to say that I’m not surprised with four goals,” said Boucher. “Nobody’s expecting anybody to score four goals in the playoffs on any team. If Sidney Crosby scored four goals you’d … still be impressed.”
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