Honestly, it may not feel like it right now in the depths of what feels like an eternal stretch with our dear Sens (two nights) but the Ottawa Senators have been busy lately.
Aside from that unexpected four-day break over Christmas, the Sens have been playing every second day for about a month.
Playing damn good hockey too, posting a blistering 12-5-2 record since late-November and at least putting themselves in a position to meet their stated goal heading into the season.
“Play meaningful games at the end of the year” as Pierre Dorion put it. There’s still work to do after a disastrous start but they’ve at least given themselves a chance.
Yet a quick glance at the standings shows that the Sens sit seven points back of the second Wild Card spot with a game in hand. The gap will probably be a bit bigger by the time they take the ice again on Saturday night.
Basically, as the last few weeks have demonstrated, they just need to keep winning just to stick with the pack. With the way teams are bunched up right now, Ottawa really can’t afford to take their foot off the gas.
If they can keep banking points in these upcoming games against Seattle, Nashville and Arizona, they’ll at least give themselves a chance. There are no easy games of course but with the way they have played lately, those certainly look like points available for the taking. They want to play important games down the stretch but after a sluggish start, they’re now in a position where every game is important. And it’s early January.
Right now though, they have a rare moment in the busy schedule to catch their breath a bit and hopefully, get a bit healthier. DJ Smith has been pretty careful with the injury updates the last little while but there are a few guys that are at least close to a return.
That includes three of their top nine forwards. Josh Norris, Mathieu Joseph and Tyler Motte are all trying to work their way back to 100% and in the case of all three guys, they’ll immediately step into the lineup when they’re ready to go.
Having all three back by late-January seems like a real possibility.
Don’t get me wrong- the Senators have done a remarkable job treading water in his absence but the fact is, the return of Josh Norris will be a huge boost on all fronts. Not only does it add another lethal scoring option to a top six that has already been red-hot and round out one of the league’s most dangerous power plays but it also means the other centres can settle into more appropriate roles. Shane Pinto can go back to feasting on third line match-ups and it will put the opposition in a bit of a “pick your poison” situation when deciding whether to focus on shutting down Tim Stützle or Josh Norris.
A little extra time for those guys to get up to speed is a good thing at this stage. The good news is the upcoming schedule has a little more rest built in which comes at a perfect time. The Senators play just 12 games the rest of the month, which is light compared to a frantic December.
Yesterday was a practice day and today a full day off. They practice tomorrow at 10:30 AM and then host the Kraken (a Kraken? Krakens?) on Saturday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
-All eyes will be on Halifax, Nova Scotia later this evening as Canada and Czechia square off for the Gold Medal at the World Juniors. Unlike that weird summer World Juniors, this tournament has actually been been wildly entertaining thanks to some surprising upsets and some impressive individual performances, including a jaw-dropping tournament from Connor Bedard. Tonight’s game features a couple Ottawa draft picks including Zack Ostapchuk, who has been solid in a bottom-six role for Team Canada and Tomas Hamara, who has played a key role on that surprising Czech team. May the best Sens prospect win and ideally, the most Canadian one. Puck drops just after 6:30 PM.
