The Buffalo Sabres are going to be searching for their fourth straight win on Wednesday night when they take the ice against the Ottawa Senators. This is an important game for the team, but one player might have even more motivation, as Josh Norris will be looking to do something he has yet to do in his career.
Norris will be playing the third game against his former team and is still searching for the first point of his career against the Senators. In the prior two games, Norris has had only one shot on goal, a +/- of -1, and 10 penalty minutes.
The Sabres traded for Norris right before the trade deadline during the 2024-25 season in hopes that he could return to the level he played at early in his career. In his rookie season, when he earned first-team All-Rookie honors, he had 35 points and then had 55 points in his second season with the Senators.
When the Sabres made the trade, they clearly believed they were getting that player as they gave up Dylan Cozens, defenseman Dennis Gilbert (who is already back with the Sabres) and a 2026 second-round pick for Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Decker.
However, injuries have derailed Norris over the past four seasons, the final two in Ottawa and his first two with the Sabres. In 2024-25, Norris would play only three games and then miss the remaining 18 due to injuries.
Then, last season, Norris played in the season opener but suffered an injury late in that game that cost him several games. He returned but missed a few more games later in the season and, in total, played in only 44 games, but was productive when on the ice, with 34 points last season.
Josh Norris could use a revenge game to turn his season around with the Buffalo Sabres
A big game against the Ottawa Senators not only would give Norris a little bit of revenge against his former team but try to put a slow start to this season behind him. Norris, through the first 14 games of the season, has only two goals and one assist and has not had a point in the last five games.
Over the past few games, Norris has been on a line with Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker, and this line in 5v5 situations has generated 19 scoring chances compared to only 12 against. However, it hasn't resulted in any goals while they were on the ice, with one goal against.
The Buffalo Sabres have been playing much better as of late but if they can get more from Josh Norris, it would be another boost for this team and Norris probably would love to start that momentum against his former team.
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