Scott Sabourin might be the most popular Lightning player who hadn’t played in a regular-season NHL game for the team before this week.
There’s no doubt that many a Lightning fan threw air punches along with the 33-year-old when watching the team’s final preseason game on Oct. 4 in Sunrise as Sabourin lowered the boom on Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. Just 19 seconds into his first shift, Sabourin zeroed in on Ekblad, leveling him behind the net, then unleashing fists of fury.
“I show up every night ready to compete, and I might have gotten a little ahead of myself that time,” Sabourin said Wednesday. “I might have kind of overshot the runway.”
That night, Sabourin was the first of five players to be ejected in the game’s first 23 minutes. By the end of the night, 16 players were tossed. Some hailed the carnage as the next chapter of what might be hockey’s bitterest rivalry. Others thought it never should have happened. The league believed the latter and fined the Lightning $100,000 and coach Jon Cooper $25,000.
Sabourin received a four-game suspension and $16,145.84 fine for his role. But for taking out Ekblad, who might be Public Enemy No. 1 among Lightning fans for his elbow to Brandon Hagel’s head in last season’s playoffs, Sabourin immediately became a fan favorite.
Nearly six weeks later, Sabourin is back in a Lightning uniform, recalled along with forward Boris Katchouk from AHL Syracuse ahead of the home loss against the Rangers on Wednesday night.
Sabourin’s Lightning debut was his 48th NHL game in 14 years of professional hockey. And while he’s spent most of his career as an AHL enforcer, he’s still out to prove he’s more than just that. He’s shown some scoring touch with the Crunch, recording three goals and five points in 11 games.
“I’m excited to be back and to show some more stuff, some hockey side of it, and play my game,” Sabourin said. “And obviously there will be times when physical stuff will be part of it, too. But I want to present as a hockey player as well. … But anytime you get an opportunity to play, you know, in the top league in the world, you jump at it. So I’m excited to get here, and I’m excited to get going.”
With intermittent call-ups, Sabourin fulfilled his four-game suspension. And even though the Lightning have a need for healthy forwards, it can’t be totally coincidental that he’s rejoining the team with its first regular-season meeting against the Panthers coming up Saturday in Sunrise.
Against the Rangers on Wednesday, Sabourin scored the Lightning’s first goal six minutes into the opening period. It was his first NHL goal in nearly six years, the last coming Feb. 29, 2020, while he was with the Senators. The Lightning are Sabourin’s third organization since.
“It was great,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “The boys were pumped. It was awesome.”
But when detailing Sabourin’s story beyond that night, there are more reasons to root for him. He’s played parts of 13 seasons in the AHL.
He had an 18-goal season just two seasons ago in the AHL but has struggled to stick in the NHL. After playing 35 games with Ottawa in 2019-20, he’s appeared in no more than seven NHL games in a season since. He got into just one NHL game last season with San Jose.
“I think at my age now, it’s kind of keeping your speed, right?” Sabourin said. “I’m kind of on the back nine. So, it’s important to stay focused on your regimen, your health, your food, your nutrition, your fitness, all that stuff, right? It’s all part of it. And if I square that all the way and I have good gym time, then I should be able to keep my boots for a handful more years here.”
When Sabourin signed a two-way contract with the Lightning during the summer, they made it known to him that the organization was looking for more physicality. He knew the Lightning’s reputation as a “world-class organization.” And in his time in Syracuse, Sabourin has loved playing under coach Joel Bouchard.
“Bouch pushes us to be better every night, and he pushes us to compete,” Sabourin said. “So that’s helpful. And then it pays dividends when you come up here and you feel like you know you’re in unreal shape, that’s awesome. You want to feel that way when you get on the ice in the NHL, right?”
Now, Sabourin has another chance to show he’s the type of player who can help teams win. And while his physicality is a part of that, he wants to show he can do the other things to make the Lightning a better team.
And in that way, it was no different going into that preseason game six weeks ago.
“I just wanted to get in hard on the forecheck, to be honest,” Sabourin said. “And then, you know, one thing led to another. But day in and day out, you know, I want to compete. I want to be hard to play against, and I want other teams to know that I’m on the ice, right?
“So, again, that might not have been the best way to go about it, but at the end of the day, the other team will know I’m out there.”
Las Vegas, NV — As the Las Vegas Raiders prepare for their high-stakes Week 11 clash against the Dallas Cowboys, an unexpected storm erupted on the practice field, shaking up the team just days before the game. In a shocking display of frustration and rivalry, quarterback Geno Smith and defensive star Maxx Crosby reportedly clashed during a heated drill, with tensions running so high that teammates had to step in and break them apart.
“It got out of hand,” Smith admitted after the altercation. “Maxx and I were both fired up, and things got intense. We’ve got a lot of passion for this game, but sometimes that can spill over. It’s all good now. We’re focused on Dallas.”
The confrontation reportedly began when Smith, frustrated by Crosby’s pressure during a practice passing drill, voiced his displeasure. According to witnesses, the two exchanged heated words before getting face-to-face, their simmering frustrations over the team’s performance this season boiling over.
Teammates Forced to Intervene
“It was a tense moment,” a source revealed. “Geno and Maxx are both fierce competitors, and when you’re pushing yourself that hard, sometimes tempers flare. It was just a practice, but it looked like it could escalate.”
Several teammates, including linebacker Denzel Perryman and cornerback Nate Hobbs, rushed to separate the two, with Perryman saying, “We’re all pushing for greatness, and things can get heated, but we know how to handle it. Geno and Maxx are both professionals, and they’ll be fine.”
Ready for the Cowboys?
Despite the dramatic on-field confrontation, both Smith and Crosby are expected to be ready for their pivotal game against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. Smith downplayed the significance of the incident, saying, “It’s nothing. Just a little heat in practice. We’ve got a bigger task ahead, and we’re all locked in for Dallas.”
While the incident might have shaken up the team momentarily, it’s unclear whether this brief tension will affect the Raiders’ preparations. Can this fiery clash ignite a stronger sense of determination for the game, or will it prove to be a distraction?