Kovalchuk busy on the ice

Ilya Kovalchuk has been playing a lot lately; he likes it. Before Tuesday, Kovalchuk was averaging 24:29 of ice time per game in December, almost three full minutes above his season average. If he keeps it up, he could lead NHL forwards by season’s end.

Of all NHL forwards, only Alexander Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla and Scott Gomez average more even-strength playing time per game than Kovalchuk’s 15:50. “I like to play a lot,” he said before the game at Ottawa. “I feel really good when I play that much. You feel the coach trusts you enough to put you on the ice, and for me that’s very important.” He has averaged more than 23 minutes for a season only once, in 2003-04, but could get there this season if he maintains his recent pace.

Todd White back home

Thrashers center Todd White grew up about 10 minutes from the Senators’ arena, Scotiabank Place. He played for the Senators, too. Unlike two weeks ago, when the Thrashers played at Montreal the night before playing Ottawa, this trip gave White a chance to eat a meal with his family. A highlight was seeing his new nephew, Noah, son of his sister, Julia.

Short memory

Ondrej Pavelec played for the first time since allowing three goals on the first four shots Friday night. He said putting a game like that behind him was no problem. “If you’re still thinking about the last game, it’s bad,” Pavelec said, adding he didn’t alter his routine. “It’s been working a couple of years. Because I didn’t play well in one game, I don’t change anything. Hopefully I will stop the first shot, and things will go well.” Pavelec started all 24 games on the Chicago Wolves’ run to the 2008 Calder Cup. He didn’t finish all of them. “I pulled him two times, and I put him right back in [the next game],” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “He was wonderful. He was a huge reason we won the championship.”