Norris continues to amp up for his first game since January shoulder surgery while Tkachuk was fortunate to avoid a serious eye injury this week.
There aren't many analysts in the game who don't think the Ottawa Senators have a pretty decent chance of ending their six-year playoff drought this season. Of course, most of the predictions have come with the caveat of "if they can stay healthy."
And in recent seasons, they've been anything but.
So when the Senators announced at the start of camp that Josh Norris had "tweaked" his surgically repaired shoulder, there were more than a few people who thought, "Here we go again."
Norris tossed away the no-contact yellow jersey this week and has looked like his usual self in practice but, with 11 days until opening night, he still hasn't played in a preseason game. It's been eight months now since his shoulder surgery and this week, he reported that he's "inching toward a return."
While the Senators do need to get off to a better start this season, something that's eluded them the past few years, the team has zero temptation to rush Norris. He still has seven years left on that big-money contract worth nearly $8 million a season and the last thing they need is for the shoulder issues to flare up again, or worse, become chronic.
That said, they still believe he'll get to play in a preseason game or two.
Team captain Brady Tkachuk briefly added to the injury concern this week, taking a stick blade near the eye at practice.
With the number of NHL players not wearing visors now in single digits, you just assume that when a player takes a high stick at practice, it's something they'll shake off quickly after a few stitches or a trip to the dentist.
But a quick glance at Tkachuk suggests he was perilously close to serious eye damage.
"At first, obviously, everyone panicked," head coach DJ Smith told the media. "It just ended up being a little bit of a deep cut up near the eye. So (it's) more precautionary, we're gonna keep him off regular practice for a couple of days.
"But everything will be fine."
Tkachuk was held out of Friday's game but will be making the trip out east. They hope he'll be good to go against either Florida Sunday or Pittsburgh Monday.
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