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Jean-Gabriel Pageau for the Frank Selke Trophy?

Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but you can understand Senators coach Guy Boucher’s excitement when he floated out Pageau’s name for the NHL’s best defensive forward honour Saturday.

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Pageau, generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds in the Senators media guide, didn’t let New York Islanders captain John Tavares move in the Senators 3-0 victory.

Pageau dominated the faceoff circle, winning 11 of 14 faceoffs. He was front and centre on a penalty kill which has improved to eighth in the NHL. He also finished off a pretty Tom Pyatt pass for the Senators’ final goal, three seconds too late to be counted as a shorthanded marker.

So, when Taveras whacked him across the wrists with two minutes remaining, it wasn’t exactly a love tap.

“It’s more than what I was expecting,” Boucher said of Pageau’s increasing role as a shadow against top opponents. “He’s a spark. He plays against the best players every night. He’s the ultimate soldier. It doesn’t matter what the role is. A lot of players will say that, but when it comes down to it, an offensive player having to take a defensive role is sometimes hard to accept.”