Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the Islanders skates during the first period against the Canadiens at Barclays Center on Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2020. Credit: Jim McIsaac
OTTAWA — Jean-Gabriel Pageau will forever be an Ottawan, having been born in Canada’s capital city and growing up in neighboring Gatineau, Quebec.
So, while he enjoyed his first trip back with the Islanders after he was acquired from his hometown Senators on Feb. 24, Pageau was happy to get that first game against the team he spent his first six-plus NHL seasons with out of the way quickly.
“Who wouldn’t be happy to come back home and play in front of your friends and your family and those fans that were awesome to me,” Pageau said before the teams met on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre.