Yahoo Sports Ottawa Senators Star Centre Talks About His Move To The Wing On Thursday
The Ottawa Senators are starved for offence.
Since November 15th, no team in the NHL has scored fewer goals than the Senators. Their 59 goals tie the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators for the smallest total during this span.
Offence is most often born from efficient puck movement from the blue line, whether in transition or on the breakout. Artem Zub's foot fracture on November 23rd robbed the organization of the chance to dress two quality defensive pairs. Being unable to rely on consistent and effective puck movement has partly contributed to the Senators' struggles.
The ineffective play of its best players has also problematic. In the team's past 15 games, the Senators' three highest-paid forwards -- Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris -- have combined to produce two five-on-five goals. Thanks to the injuries to depth players like David Perron and Michael Amadio, the quality of the Senators' depth has suffered.
At the beginning of the season, Perron stressed the importance of a third line that could sustain offensive zone pressure and create matchup problems for the opposition. Even if pressure fails to yield production, strong shifts can tire the opposition and allow the team's skilled players to capitalize. Without it, the Senators are easier to play against, and it puts more pressure on their top-heavy lines to produce.
Nobody was producing during the Senators' 4-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres last night, but if there was a silver lining to Ottawa's scoring deficit during last night's loss, it afforded head coach Travis Green the opportunity to try something new.
One idea that many have lobbied for was to try Josh Norris on the wing.
Norris has played exclusively as a centre throughout his career and has some intriguing tools. He has historically been one of the Senators' most efficient shooters, possessing a 17.5 career shooting percentage. Norris also happens to be one of the fastest skaters in the league.
According to NHL Edge data, Norris ranks in the 98th percentile in top speed (23.76 mph), 93rd percentile in 22+ mph bursts, and the 95th percentile in 20-22 mph bursts and 18-20 mph bursts.
Norris has never been the prototypical puck-distributing centre, but he has historically had success centring lines featuring Brady Tkachuk.
Granted, Ottawa's best lines this season have featured Tkachuk.
Thanks to Shane Pinto's ascension to Tkachuk's line, Norris has been relegated to the third line for several games to no effect.
With his team down 4-0 in the latter stages of last night's game against Buffalo, Green moved Norris to the wing alongside Tim Stützle and Claude Giroux.
Norris reflected on the change after the game.
"Obviously, we're jumbling the lines a little bit to try and get something going and try to find a little life," explained Norris. "It's something that (Travis Green) has talked to me about before, possibly just throwing me on the wing for a couple of shifts.
"I've played the wing before. It's not something that's unusual to me. I thought we had a couple good shifts there in the third. Sometimes, it can free you up a little bit on the wing and give you a little more space. So, yeah, we'll see what (Green) does. But I liked it."
Interestingly, the underlying metrics were encouraging. In the three and a half minutes that the trio played together, the Senators outshot Buffalo nine to zero (100 CF%), with six of those shots landing on goal.
Obviously, it is a tiny sample size to analyze, but what could make a Norris/Stützle line work is Norris' need for a puck-carrying linemate who can carry the puck between the blue lines and create clean entries with possession. I believe a winger like Nikolaj Ehlers or Seth Jarvis would perfectly complement Norris, but that kind of player is not available to them. Nor do they have the assets available to acquire such a player.
The alternative is to match Norris with an internal candidate who shares those traits and he believes Stützle can be that player.
"Yeah, I think so," Norris said. "Obviously, he's got another gear in him. I can complement him when he's carrying the puck through the neutral zone and he's one of the better guys in the league at doing that.
"For me, it's just using my legs and getting open, knowing that he's going to carry (the puck) and see me. Obviously, he's a hell of a player. I love to play with him. But yeah, we'll see what happens, (whether I'm) in the middle or the wing. It's not my biggest concern right now. The concern is just getting back on track and winning. Whatever happens, happens."
The fact that Norris is strong in the faceoff circle can offset one of Stützle's most significant weaknesses. He is also a much more impactful player than Adam Gaudette, who does not skate well and has struggled to produce after his torrid start to the season.
One of the benefits of keeping Norris in the middle would be to balance the scoring across the lines as the team gets healthier, but Ridly Greig's emergence as a competent two-way player may create the flexibility this organization needs to give this experiment a longer runway.
If it does not work or it turns out that Shane Pinto may be better suited to playing on a different line, at least Green knows he can always revert to putting Norris back on a line with Tkachuk.
In the interim, I am looking forward to seeing how the Senators' two fastest forwards can work together to create offence.
They sorely need it.
This story comes from The Hockey News Ottawa website. For more Senators coverage all season long, check out THN Ottawa. Recommended articles include:
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