Game 38 Preview + Open Thread: Anaheim Ducks @ Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are coming off a shootout loss against the top team in the league in a game where they were able to hang on with the big guys. The price they paid was an injury to yet another vital member of the team, Josh Norris.

Yesterday, the Sens had an optional skate in which 14 skaters showed up. We got an amusing update from Colin White who is nearing his comeback and a little tidbit from Egor Sokolov who seems very determined to make the most of his recent callup (thanks to some encouragement from Drake Batherson).

Things are only going to get harder for the Sens going forward, not only do they have a grueling schedule coming up but the list of injuries is getting longer and more impactful.

The Ottawa Senators injury list currently includes 10 players:

Crookshank - Knee
White - Shoulder
Pinto - Shoulder
Zaitsev - Heel
Sabourin -Finger
Brown - Jaw
Batherson - Ankle
Gambrell - Upper Body
Norris - Upper Body
Brannstrom - Covid

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) January 28, 2022

Game Notes:

• There is no clear indication of the severity of his injury but according to Ian Mendes, the Sens are still hopeful it’s not long term as they await further testing. DJ Smith did confirm that they don’t expect to see Norris until after the All-Star break at least./

Sens update on Josh Norris is that he needs an MRI later today. We’ll get a further update in the next 24 hours.

They’re still hopeful it’s not too serious.

— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) January 28, 2022

• With Josh Norris getting injured last game, DJ Smith had to make a quick adjustment. Tim Stützle paired with Brady Tkachuk and that was an instant hit. Stützle is the kind of player who probably can make any player around him better but pair him up with Tkachuk and I think we’re in for a fun experiment. Let’s see what they can do together for a full game.
• With the parade of injuries the Sens have gone through, the Sens desperately need Matt Murray to continue to play as consistent as he has been the past few games. If the Sens struggle to score, it would at least be helpful if they can stop pucks going in the other way.
• Speaking of goalies, Anton Forsberg will get the start today in net and just like Murray, he has been showing promising signs, today is a much needed win to boost morale and Forsberg will be relied on heavily.
• Injuries aren’t great but with a young team like the Sens, it means seeing more prospects and today forward Mark Kastelic will be making his Sens debut against the Ducks. Kastelic was a fifth round pick in 2019 and currently has 11 points in 31 games played with the Belleville Senators this season.
• The Ducks have good special teams so discipline will be key to the Senators winning this game, on the flip side they will need to be very creative on the power play to get through their PK units.
• It’s a 12:30pm start today, you can watch the game on CBC, Sportsnet, RDS or listen live on TSN1200/

Game Stats:

Player Stats

Team Stats