It appears as though the Ottawa Senators will be without one of their effective depth forwards. Following a collision with a Toronto Maple Leaf making his NHL debut, Jacob Quillan, Nick Cousins looks to miss some time with what looked like a left-knee injury. Further updates will be available once more is known, but at this time there are no specifics for his return timetable.
Cousins stays down after a hard knee-on-knee collision. Meat head Reaves tries to go after him while he's down. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/q9oArDCTgP
— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) January 26, 2025
Nick Cousins Will Miss Time with Lower-Body Injury
Cousins came over in the offseason, after being a member of the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers last year. He played in the Panthers top six at times, but following trade deadline lineup bolstering, he never really got a regular shift come playoff time. Still, that was invaluable experience for the traveled Cousins and also, an attribute that would benefit the inexperienced Senators group.
This year in Ottawa, he has done well in his roll. He can play throughout the lineup. Furthermore, he can be relied upon for important situations, even if he hasn’t been on the ice for a while. He’s always the next man on deck. Collectively this year, he has five goals and eight assists in 47 games played, skating just under 12 minutes a night. He’s a little off some of his better seasons, where he’s been around 25 points in over 13 minutes of action per game. The Sens will miss his services, however, they will have suitable replacements.
How Will the Sens Cope?
With Steve Staios managing the front office, the team has been more accountable. One of the areas of improvement for the Sens is the depth at the forward position. When someone goes down, like Cousins now, a more than capable recruit fills the void. After not starting 2024-25 with the big club, since Zack Ostapchuk got into the Sens lineup at the end of October, he hasn’t looked back. He has played in 35 games thus far. Matthew Highmore is a recent callup and David Perron is just back from injury. Therefore, the Sens have plenty of capable help, when someone like Cousins goes down.
There’s not much of a word on Joshua Norris, since he was injured Tuesday versus the New York Rangers. It was an upper-body injury, but his timetable remains unknown. In saying that, it is not expected to be long term.
Main Photo Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
