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Last night's Sens/Habs game gave us a little of everything, not to mention it was just a pre-season game but it was easily the most entertaining game Ottawa has had in their six tune up games! The Senators won in a shootout 5-4 as all of their goal scoring came from the center ice position. Josh Norris notched two more goals while Shane Pinto continued his strong play scoring yet again against Montreal with Chris Tierney rounding out the scoring. Ottawa fell behind 2-0 less than minutes in as Montreal feasted on the defense pairing of Victor Mete/Nikita Zaitsev, both struggled all night long. It might have been both players worst games as a Senator, thankfully it wasn't the regular season.
It definitely was a game of momentum changes as Ottawa then scored four unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead but then Montreal rallied in the third period to tie it up, while neither team scored in OT. Josh Norris won it for Ottawa in a shootout to go with his two PP goals, 7 shots on goal too, but it was his leadership that I noticed as well, when he came to the aid of a teammate in the 2nd period and you could see DJ Smith didn't mind that he took a double minor in the process. Seeing Norris last night had to show many Sens fans that he isn't afraid to mix it up and to take on that role in the absence of Brady Tkachuk. If anything, this team is still carrying on the identity of the team even if Brady isn't in the line-up so you had to be pleased to see that side of Norris.
Speaking of Brady Tkachuk, I did a little research on how much he has played recently. This goes back to my last blog in which I stated how Sens fans haven't had the pleasure of seeing a full season from Brady in a Sens uniform. If you look back, he didn't play any hockey from March 2020 until January 2021. With the short season this past winter/spring, he played 4 months and hasn't suited up since May 12th. If you do the math, he missed a 10 month stretch, played 4 months and now has missed another 5 months and counting. No player can afford to miss that much hockey, especially when you are his age and his development is so huge right now. I don't understand how management can allow this to happen. I know many will say it takes both sides to come to an agreement on a contract extension but you have one of your biggest young assets ever and he has missed playing hockey 15 of the last 19 months! I talked to a few NHL front office personnel last night about this, after I was doing the math on how much hockey he has missed, they all said, NHL personnel from around the league can't understand how management in Ottawa has allowed the Tkachuk situation to get to this point.
While talking to a few sources, scouts, etc....Sens GM Pierre Dorion has been calling around to see who might be available short term at the center ice position. I was told he doesn't want to lock in on any player that has more than 2 years on their existing contract. He knows how thin they are up the middle, even if Parker Kelly or Clark Bishop return from injury soon, neither has enough NHL experience for what Dorion feels the team needs at this point. The first 10-12 games will be vital for Ottawa to see how they move forward with the center ice position. Too bad he didn't make a serious attempt at acquiring the number one center that both he and Eugene Melnyk said Ottawa needed to add in the off-season because they wouldn't be in this predicament now!
Lastly, I encourage you all to read the blog by Paul Stewart here at hockeybuzz! He breaks down the cross checking rule that the league is focussing on. Super piece, worth a read.