A Weight Lifted Off the Shoulder of Senators’ Josh Norris

For the Ottawa Senators, their fans, and especially Josh Norris, though he said he “tried to treat it like a normal game,” Wednesday evening’s matchup versus the Washington Capitals was special for all.

It wasn’t about the scoreboard, though the home team steamrolled their opposition 6-1. It was solely about the return of Norris.

How would he fare playing his first NHL game in 270 days? Would his twice surgically repaired shoulder hold up from inevitable body contact or handle the stress of taking draws?

The 24-year-old passed all tests with flying colours, and then some.

Not only did Josh Norris play 16:43 in his season debut, taking 11 draws. But most of all provided a lift for his teammates in a game at first which could’ve gone sideways in a sloppy opening period. In addition, Senators’ fans gave him a well-deserved standing ovation after notching his first goal since Jan 21, coincidentally in his final appearance prior to undergoing surgery.

However, Norris wasn’t finished there. He potted his second goal 1:47 into the middle period using his patented snapshot. The one everyone has grown accustomed to seeing. That shot helped elevate the Michigan resident to a 35-goal campaign in 2021-22.

Head coach D.J. Smith was extremely happy to have another difference-maker and top centre-back in his team’s lineup.

Though they led 2-1 after the first 20 minutes, the Capitals outshot the Senators 12-6. Goalie Anton Forsberg was forced to make several key saves to keep his team in the game.

Norris was a catalyst in putting his club, a goal which eventually stood up as the game-winner.

“The most exciting thing is obviously having Josh, and you can see the difference. He only needs one look,  and it goes away. You know if it’s a night where it’s not going in for us, he’s the guy who gets one look and it’s in the back of the net. And then now you’ve got the game under control,” said Smith post-game.

Linemate Drake Batherson who’s played on the same team as Norris since 2019 whether in Belleville or Ottawa is aware of the full value his centre provides.

“He’s a guy that can drive a play – can go for defensive zone face-off, just reliable on both ends and plays with a ton of confidence. He’s a pretty calm guy on the bench. He doesn’t get too rattled or get too high, so he’s just he’s fun to play with. And yeah, just super-excited for him to get back and obviously show tonight how much he can help the team,” Batherson noted.

Batherson registered his first points of the season, recording a primary assist on each of Norris’ markers. The first was a spectacular behind-the-back cross-crease pass which saw Norris evade his man getting to the net for a tap-in.

For his part, Batherson may have been more excited than his teammate himself.

“It’s been like 270 days or whatever. I couldn’t even believe the emotions that were going through him when he scored, and I was just so excited for him to get that. He was probably just super-excited. And you know, I felt the same way and I didn’t even score the goal.”

After numerous weeks of if and when he’ll return to the Senators’ lineup, Josh Norris just wanted to get on the ice and play, not think about background noise which finally was put out to pasture Wednesday.

“Obviously, like I said, I was expecting to be ready for the start of the season and that didn’t pan out. So, you know there’s a lot of talk going around, and I try to just keep it to the outside. It’s none of my business what everybody else says and I know what’s going on with me. And I just kind of walked along my path,” a relaxed Josh Norris told the assembled media.

“I mean, I don’t think I was really caring too much (about the shoulder) tonight. I think I was just so focused on the game. Maybe a few weeks ago when I was hoping I’d be back, it was a little harder on me. But I mean, everything kind of passes and I just wasn’t making the right decision for myself and knew I needed a little bit more time. Everybody here was great, and they had my back. So thankful for that.”

 Ultimately, a weight was lifted literally off Norris’ shoulder.

“I think it’s kind of one of those moments. It’s weird. Like, I think God’s pretty amazing. I don’t want to get like too philosophical here. But yeah, it’s just a great night and happy we won.”