Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) – After a couple of hard-fought wins during a four-game road trip this past week, the Buffalo Sabres are back home and gearing up for a meeting with the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center.
Tuesday’s matchup will be the first since the Sabres and Senators came together on a trade a couple weeks back that sent Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second-round pick to Ottawa for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker. The trade came just hours before the NHL Trade Deadline.
Since the trade, Norris has appeared in only three games for Buffalo, where he has a goal and an assist. Following a loss to the Detroit Red Wings on March 12, though, Norris has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
While Norris’ action in a Sabres uniform has been limited, to this point, head coach Lindy Ruff feels the team has yet to see the real Norris just yet.
“He got in the faceoff dot a few times, won key faceoffs, got up ice, made a heck of a play on the goal to [Tage] Thompson, and then scored the inside goal. So I think you're looking at a guy that was limited, and still was a guy that was able to get in on plays, and a guy that's going to be able to kill penalties for us,” said Ruff on Tuesday during his weekly appearance on the “Jeremy and Joe Show” on WGR. “When you look at it, just a two-way center that has got some real good offense, and we consider an elite skater."
Meanwhile, it was a while before the Sabres got a chance to see Bernard-Docker in action on the Buffalo blue line, but the 24-year-old was inserted into the lineup over the weekend for two games, registering a pair of assists in a 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
On the other side of the trade, Cozens has had a resurgence in his first eight games with the Senators, recording seven points (3+4) in the process.
The Senators are hoping Cozens is a piece that can help them into the playoffs, as Ottawa is currently in the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 79 points.
"That is always hard. A really well-liked guy and good teammate for all the guys that have been around them for the last four or five years. And now you're coming back into, what was, your home building, I always think it's not an easy situation, but a situation where a player always wants to come back in and try to play the best he possibly can," said Ruff with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase.
Puck drop on Tuesday is slated for 7 p.m., with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.