The Senators come home to play with the dogs for a bit on Friday night, then head right back out on the road for four games.
The Arizona Coyotes may be playing their second game in as many nights, and they may be in a complete free fall in the standings (losers of 14 straight), but if you're making them the underdogs for their game in Ottawa tonight, you simply haven't been paying attention to Senators hockey.
You just never know what you're going to get with this group.
What we do know is that Josh Norris was placed on LTIR on Friday. No one wants to say it, but it looks like Norris has re-injured his twice surgically-rebuilt left shoulder in a collision during the game in Nashville on Tuesday night. We know it's an upper body injury, we know it's serious, and we know he was favouring his left arm going off the ice.
So, we won't be needing your services on this one, Matlock.
In all likelihood, with just 25 games left in Ottawa's season, that may be it for Norris until the fall. If it is that same shoulder and surgery is eventually deemed to be the best option, Sens fans are hoping he gets to it sooner rather than later.
His last operation came in February of last year and it cost him all of training camp this season and a few regular season games too. We're now into March, and if we know anything about Norris's decision-making from the past, he's going to seek plenty of opinions.
Here's the rub. No matter what course of action Norris has taken in the past, whether it's rehab or surgery, he keeps re-injuring that shoulder. That has to be a huge concern for the team right now. No one questions Norris's character, skill or will. All of those things are extremely reliable. His left shoulder hasn't been, no matter what doctors have tried or prescribed.
With Norris out, and his cap hit parked on LTIR for at least the next ten games, the Senators have called up winger Zack MacEwen to backfill the bottom of the roster as everyone moves up a notch.
MacEwen is an interesting choice, given that Angus Crookshank was also a worthy option. Belleville's all-star was just named the AHL player of the month for February with 8 goals in his last 12 games.
Crookshank even got into the Ridly Greig empty net discussion, when somehow his wrister this week got Utica's noses out of joint, though not quite to the level of Morgan Rielly's.
With the NHL trade deadline a week away, Crookshank also remains a solid call up candidate.
It might also be interesting to give Zack Ostapchuk a look on the fourth line at some point as the Sens play out the stretch. Ostapchuk has 12 goals as an AHL rookie, well beyond the AHL goal scoring accomplishments of both Parker Kelly and Mark Kastelic who will patrol Ottawa's fourth line tonight.
And at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, we know Ostapchuk can handle the physical part of the game.
MacEwen is no AHL slouch either, with 5 goals and 7 points in 10 games. Here's how Ottawa will line up tonight against the Arizona Coyotes.
The Senators dodged a bullet here.
In Nashville, Artem Zub was already out with injury and then both Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot got dinged up in the game. Fortunately, for the Sens, Zub is healthy enough to return tonight and Sanderson and Chabot weren't seriously injured. With Travis Hamonic out week to week, it looked briefly like the Sens may have to dress not one, not two, but three bodies from the AHL.
Dominik Kubalik slides back into top nine duty for what will probably his final home game as an Ottawa Senator. It's widely believed that the Senators will try and get something for Kubalik, a pending UFA, between now and next Friday's trade deadline.
With more value and a no-trade, Vladimir Tarasenko's fate is a little more complicated. But he'll probably be in the same boat, with multiple media reports suggesting he's willing to waive his no-trade if the Sens move him to a contender.
The Senators host Arizona tonight then head for Philadelphia for a game tomorrow. Then it's a three-game visit to California next week, starting in Anaheim on Wednesday.
When they get back from Cali next weekend, there's a chance this team could look considerably different.