Following a 38-game absence, Ottawa Senators centreman Josh Norris will return to the lineup Wednesday night to face the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Canadian Tire Centre.
After sustaining a shoulder injury in just the 5th game of the season, the original diagnosis looked like it would be a season-ending injury. But after meetings with multiple doctors and specialists, Norris opted to rehab the shoulder rather than have surgery.
Norris is fresh off signing an 8-year, $63 million extension in the offseason. He was rewarded handsomely for an excellent sophomore campaign, scoring 35 goals in 66 games. Norris was supposed to play an important role in Ottawa’s top 6, giving them an enviable one-two punch with two elite lines.
But in Norris’ absence, the Sens have struggled to find consistency. Rookie Shane Pinto has taken his spot in the lineup, but the hot start to the season is a distant memory as Pinto has struggled to find the scoresheet over the last few weeks.
Aside from Tim Stützle, most of the Senators’ top forwards have significantly cooled off in January. Norris’ return brings a hope that the “big dogs” will break out of their slumps because when they don’t produce, the team struggles:
Last 5 Games (goals-assists—points)
Stützle: 4-1—5
Tkachuk: 2-1—3
DeBrincat: 1-1—2
Batherson: 0-2—2
Giroux: 0-2—2
Team record: 1-4-0
"Why not go up against some of the best players in the world your first game back. I'm excited for it, but I'm not really too focused on that, just focus on my game and play a full 60."
Josh Norris on facing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin his first game back pic.twitter.com/0TtcWIXdJ7
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 18, 2023
Nobody is expecting Norris to come in and save the day, especially not after such a lengthy rehab. But so much was made about the Senators’ top 6 forward core coming into the season, and they’ve played together for just 5 games.
While Norris will take Pinto’s spot between DeBrincat and Giroux, it’ll be interesting to see what Head Coach D.J. Smith does with the powerplay units. The Senators had the 3rd best powerplay in the NHL a few weeks prior, but has since slipped to 6th place. With Norris’ return, will the top unit change for the first time in months?
Norris finished tied for 3rd in the NHL with 16 powerplay goals last season despite missing 14 games. He has a lethal one-timer that players are going to have to respect. Other than goal-scoring, Norris brings a stellar two-way game to the table that should benefit the Senators at 5v5 as well.
But the real headline here is that the Senators sit 25th in the NHL in goals per game and will insert their top goal scorer from the last 2 seasons back into the lineup.
-Jack Richardson
Twitter: @jackrichrdson
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.