SNAPSHOTS: Help is on the way as the Senators prepare to play the Canucks

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The Ottawa Senators had reinforcements when they returned to the ice at the Canadian Tire Center on Wednesday.

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And more are on the way.

Center jose norris I was back, and the ends nick pablo Y Tyler ennis They were also outside the COVID-19 protocol and among those who participated in the club’s 45-minute skating.

With Thursday’s game against Seattle Kraken on track postponed, the Senators should have the majority of the nine players affected by the latest round of the virus when the club heads to Vancouver on Friday to face the Canucks on Saturday night. at Rogers Arena.

The expectation is goalkeeper Anton Forsberg , along with the defenders thomas chabot , Jacob Bernard Docker Y Dillon Heatherington , will be back as long as i go Zach Sanford Y Chris Tierney It should also be able to return.

Postponing the Seattle game gave the Senators some time.

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“You never want to say that you don’t want to play games, but there are teams in the league that have played a game with boys in COVID-19 protocol and some have not had any,” coach dj blacksmith he said Wednesday. “I think we have played 10 or 11 games with a significant number of guys (in the protocol). That’s a big part of games.

“As many games as possible, we want to be healthy, but we are going to run into a problem with many games in many days. But I’d rather do that with healthy guys than have eight to 10 players out. “

With eight of the last nine club games postponed, the Senators have played just once since a 4-3 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on the road on Dec. 18. That was a 6-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last Saturday. with five players placed in the protocol.

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Smith isn’t convinced that inactivity hurts the team.

“It won’t take long. You play two or three games in five nights and you’ll get it back fast, ”Smith said. “The first game we may be a little rusty, but we are practicing and you can tell the guys who come back have that leg strength and they look healthy.

“It’s hard to tell. But almost all of the guys that got into the protocol had bad games before that and that almost leads you to believe that something was wrong, and then if it’s fatigue or even if they are asymptomatic. It’s just a mental sharpness. It will be good for our group to get everyone back.

“And then just to know that you can’t evaluate guys for 90 days and you know that you will have guys available to you.”

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MINIMAL SYMPTOMS

Norris and Paul said they didn’t have many symptoms while in isolation for five days.

“It was okay. I enjoyed my little break and I wasn’t too sick,” Norris said. back on the track and around the boys.

“I missed him so much.”

Norris missed the club’s game against the Leafs.

“It’s frustrating when you test positive because you don’t want to be away from the track and miss games,” Norris said. “That was what worried me and it sucked to miss a game, but it was good that it was just that and we are over it.

“Now, we can focus on practice right now, get back in shape and then play again.”

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Paul said he could exercise at home and didn’t have much other than a cold.

“I did my time, I came back today and I was just trying to get my legs going and get back in shape,” Paul said. “I have some weights at home. I picked them up a couple of times and I felt really good today, so that’s positive. “

All players feel like it’s time to get back to work. The Senators’ tour of Western Canada with stops in Vancouver, Edmonton on Monday, Calgary on Thursday and Winnipeg on Saturday will continue as scheduled.

“We want to play hockey,” Paul said. “We don’t want to go in, keep practicing and keep putting off games. Everyone coming back here is nice. We were on something good there (in December) and we want it to continue like this.

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“We are good in the room, we have confidence when we are together and we are just waiting for the next one.”

The club sent defenses lassi thomson Y Max guenette I return to Belleville on Wednesday while Logan shaw He was transferred to the taxi crew.

THE LAST WORDS

Norris’s return meant extreme drake batherson returned to his natural position on the right side of center with the captain Brady tkachuk on the left.

Batherson and Norris laughed a lot about the possibility of him playing center if the Seattle game had gone ahead. Smith said Batherson played center in junior, so it was worth a try.

“It’s funny. We were talking about it (Tuesday). He had no idea, he just mentioned to me that he was taking my place and would probably now be out of the lineup,” Norris said. “It was quite fun. I enjoyed playing center and it wouldn’t surprise me. that Drake was really good at playing in the middle.

“I wouldn’t mind taking turns with him.”

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Twitter: @sungarrioch