OTTAWA -- Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki knows a thing or two about battling injuries and trying to play through pain. It comes with the territory when you play with the physical style he does.

So, there was Borowiecki Wednesday morning admitting he was "a little banged" up after taking part in three fights the previous three games. His latest bout with Vancouver's Derek Dorsett Tuesday left him sitting out the third period of that 3-0 loss to the Canucks.

“I’m day-to-day,” said Borowiecki, who will not play Thursday against the Devils. “I fought a grizzly bear (Milan Lucic) in Edmonton and (Tuesday) night I got a little banged up in a fight. There’s something recurring and I’ve got to take care of it.”

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Could that "something" be a reoccurrence of the shoulder injury he suffered last season?

“I’m not going to delve into it too much," responded Borowiecki when pressed about his shoulder. "I’ve just got to stay on top of it. The way I play, obviously, I have a few more miles on my body.”

When the Senators took off on their special playoff run last spring, Borowiecki spent most of it on the sidelines. He appeared in only two postseason matches because of a high ankle sprain and shoulder woes.

Borowiecki isn’t wrong when he states he has “a few more miles on his body.” The six-foot-one, 216 pounder led the NHL in hits (364) and hits per game last season (5.2), while dropping the mitts on 14 occasions. After racking up a career-high 154 penalty minutes last season, Borowiecki sits at 455 PIM in 223 career games in the NHL.

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Recently signed to a two-year, $2.4M extension, Borowiecki plays a robust style reminiscent of 1970’s throwback d-men Moose Dupont, Harold Snepts, Bugsy Watson and other hard-nosed blue liners. While the Clarkson University grad understands his role as a physical player, Borowiecki doesn’t feel every heavy check should result in an ensuing fight, but understands its implication.

“After a while it does get a little tiresome,” said Borowiecki. “Maybe I can see the hit (on Canucks forward Alex Burmistrov during Tuesday's game) looked pretty bad from their team’s perspective, so I kind of understand it. I would do the same thing if I was in that situation. Anytime you put the body on someone, you expect to dance in the ballroom.”

For his part, Borowiecki does not seek out fights. Luke Richardson, his AHL coach with Binghamton and rugged former NHLer, gave him sound advice.

“When you make a hit like that, your gloves are on by a thread, because the last thing you want to do is eat a couple (of punches) and end up being hurt.”