Josh Norris injured, Ottawa Senators stumble in loss to Predators

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The Ottawa Senators did not get a shot on goal in the entire third period Tuesday in Nashville.

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Let that sink in. Twenty freaking minutes. No shots. None.

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It was the first time in the team’s history the Senators went a period without a shot. That’s how bad it was.

The stats? The Senators were outshot 20-0 in that final period.

How is that possible?

Predictably, the Senators lost 4-1 to the Predators.

“We just ran out of gas,” said Senators coach Jacques Martin.

Back to the game details in a bit.

The loss of centre Josh Norris, who left the game with an “upper-body injury” after being knocked shoulder first into the back of the Predators’ net with a bit less than 12 minutes left in the second period will be front and centre going forward. The loss of Norris, who missed much of last season with a shoulder injury, for any extended period of time would be another dagger for a team that needs all the help it can get down the stretch.

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Martin said Norris would be evaluated Wednesday.

Defenceman Thomas Chabot also left the bench late in the game.

“The effort was there,” Martin told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson. “It’s a matter of playing more in the offensive zone. When we lost Norris, it affected our line combinations. In the second period, if we could have gotten the tying goal instead of giving them the third goal, it might have given us momentum in the third.”

Coming off a 6-3 loss in Washington the night before, the Senators looked worn down.

The Senators fell behind 2-0 on the first seven shots of the game.

It was 1-0 3:23 into the game after a turnover in the neutral zone. Nashville’s Michael McCarron found the net, behind Ottawa goalie Joonas Korpisalo.

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With Jakob Chychrun serving a tripping penalty, Roman Josi gave the Predators a 2-0 lead with a blast from the point 5:44 into the period.

Senators winger Drake Batherson one-timed a pass from Jake Sanderson into the net for a power-play goal with 1:02 left in the first period.

Josi snuck in behind Ottawa’s defence and wristed a shot past Korpisalo on the glove side with 1:29 left in the second period.

Nashville made it 4-1 when Korpisalo coughed up a rebound and Gustav Nyquist knocked it past him with 6:48 left.

ICE CHIPS

After falling behind 7-0 in shots early in the game, the Senators then outshot the Predators 14-0. Nashville finally got a shot in the dying seconds of the first period … Ottawa’s Mark Kastelic landed a couple of rights in a first-period fight with Michael McCarron, but ended up on the bottom of the pile. Good on Kastelic for trying to put some spark into his teammates. Said Kastelic: “It was something going through my head, do what I could to get the guys going. I’m more of a pick-my-spots kind of guy. I just thought the timing was right. Thankfully, he was willing.” Said Martin: “It got us going. It’s unfortunate for the end result.” … Nashville goalie Juuse Saros made a huge save on Tim Stutzle on a power play midway through the first period. It was the Senators’ only shot on that power-play opportunity.

THIS ‘N’ THAT

Senators defenceman Artem Zub was out of the lineup again … Shane Pinto had a couple of good whacks at the puck close to the Nashville net six minutes into the second period … Looking for his first career hat trick, Josi hit the post a bit less than five minutes into the third period … Up next for Ottawa is a Friday night home game vs. the Arizona Coyotes. Then, the Senators head out on a four-game, eight-day road trip through Philadelphia, Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose.

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