With Norris out, Senators turn to Brassard to help keep offence humming

By CityNews Staff

This would have been a disaster for those rebuilding Ottawa Senators we knew.

Today? The Senators are leaning on their forward depth earlier than expected.

During a 6-2 romp over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Canadian Tire Centre that would have otherwise have been classified as a laugher, there was little to smile about when number two centre Josh Norris left the ice, his left arm hanging. TV cameras followed him heading down the tunnel to the dressing room, showing him tossing his stick in anger with his right arm and then kicking at it with his right foot.

It was in the third period and Norris had just taken a faceoff when his left shoulder appeared to give out. That shoulder has been an area of concern since he required surgery on it following the World Junior Championship in January 2019.

After Norris collapsed in the faceoff circle Saturday, he slowly got to his feet and left in disgust, he did not return to the game.

Following Monday’s game-day morning skate, head coach D.J. Smith was cautious in his update on Norris.

“We’re waiting on the MRI, so he’ll be out at least a couple of weeks,” Smith said. “Once we get those results, we should know more in the next couple of days.”

Smith confirmed the injury occurred during a Norris pull on a faceoff, and not afterward when he fell to the ice. Smith also added what was clear from the morning setup — veteran centre Derick Brassard, who has yet to play for Ottawa in the regular season, fills in for Norris between Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat.

The coach said he considered moving Shane Pinto up to the second line, but likes the way Pinto is playing alongside Tyler Motte and Mathieu Joseph on line three.

Brassard, 35, was one of the last players off the ice after the morning skate, getting extra reps before his season debut against the Dallas Stars.

“You never know when you’re going to jump into a situation like that,” Brassard said. “Obviously an injury is not the perfect scenario, but we’re a team here. Everyone’s important, and the extra guys — we worked hard the last two weeks to stay ready.

“For me, personally, I’m excited to be out there and trying to help the team win some games. It’s been a while, but I’m just going to try to keep it simple with ‘G’ and ‘Cat.’

Brassard is no stranger to Giroux. The two played against each other as teenagers in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and were teammates for a few games in Philadelphia last season.

Brassard will get some power-play time, Smith said, but so will there be more minutes for Pinto and DeBrincat with the extra man.

Pinto missed nearly all of last season with a shoulder injury, so the sight of Norris going down hit close to home.

“That’s just scary, honestly,” Pinto said. “Hopefully he’s OK, but it’s just not what you want to see, especially with that type of player. He plays so many minutes for us, PK, PP, and we just hope he’s alright.”

Pinto added that, from his experience on the shelf, it will be important for Norris to stay positive while he is out.

“We don’t know the update yet, but you’ve just got to stay positive about it, take it day to day,” Pinto said. “Support your teammates the best you can. That’s what I tried to do last year, but yeah, the biggest thing is you can’t get down on yourself.”

Last season, Norris missed 15 games including the entire month of February, after re-injuring the shoulder. Fortunately, it did not require further surgery and Norris came back strong, finishing with 35 goals to lead the Senators.

At that point, Ottawa had no shot at a playoff berth. What mattered was getting its young players more experience and coming back stronger this fall. In the meantime, the Senators roster has been reinforced with such strength down the middle that they should be able to withstand the loss of Norris, even if it is for an extended period.

How wise was general manager Pierre Dorion in signing Brassard as a depth centre?

We will soon find out. Brassard had a strong camp as a PTO and has the kind of skill and experience to slot in anywhere in the top nine, at centre or wing.

Smith has had the luxury of sending four strong centres over the boards, as top centre Tim Stützle and fourth-line centre Mark Kastelic have also been terrific.

The hope is that Ottawa avoids the kind of centre losses it had last season with Norris, Colin White and Pinto all out for periods of time.

Five Sens with faceoff per cent at 50 per cent or better

As another measure of the strength at centre, Ottawa has five players with faceoff percentages at 50 per cent or better. Surprisingly, Kastelic has been the top performer, although he has taken fewer draws by nature of being on the fourth line.

Using his brute strength to lean into the circle, Kastelic is at 78.4 per cent off 37 draws. Pinto has won 58.8 per cent of his 51 attempts, just ahead of Norris — 57.9 per cent of 57 faceoffs. Giroux, who often takes strategic draws before sliding back to wing, is at 53.7 per cent (54 faceoffs). Stützle has won an even 50 per cent of 36 draws.

Homestand heaven

The Norris news aside, the Senators homestand has been all that the team hoped it would be, three games into a five-game stretch. Remember when the Senators started the season 0-2 on the road and angst was in the air? Nah, I don’t remember it, either.

At home, the Sens have posted victories over Boston (7-5), Washington (5-2) and Arizona (6-2). As the numbers would indicate — averaging six goals scored per game at home — this is a very different Senators offence, capable of scoring goals in bunches. Pinto and captain Brady Tkachuk have four goals apiece and Drake Batherson has three and is tied with Tkachuk in points with eight.

“Guys are starting to feel good and we’re happy with the outcomes.” Tkachuk said.

“I feel like we’re getting better every single game. We’re playing with confidence right now. We just have to keep going, keep getting to the next level.”

 

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