As if a division rivalry game on the last day before the holiday break wasn’t enough, Tuesday’s matchup between the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres comes packed with oodles of storylines and intrigue.
The Sabres enter having won six straight games, while the Senators enter having won four straight. Though the teams have played three times since making a blockbuster trade last March, Tuesday will mark the first time that former Senator Josh Norris will be in the lineup on the opposing side.
Dylan Cozens, who the Senators received in return for Norris along with a second-round draft pick in 2026, is coming off one of his best performances of the season. Cozens scored once and added two assists in Sunday’s win over Boston and has 10 points in his last seven games overall.
Norris, who has been plagued by injuries the last handful of seasons, has five goals and seven assists in 12 games since joining the Sabres.
“Yeah, I think obviously there’s a little bit of competition,” answered Cozens when asked if there’s any comparison after being traded for a player.
“You know, he’s a great player, and yeah, I think you want to do good for yourself, you want to do good for the team that traded for you,” said the centre. “The biggest thing is that, and doing well for the team that traded for me and believed in me, so that’s the main focus.”
Lately in Ottawa, Cozens is finding chemistry centring Drake Batherson and David Perron on the second line. “Yeah, I just think we’re doing a lot of good things low,” said Cozens.
“Below the goal line, getting it to the net, getting it around the net, and just working them low and reloading hard. Yeah, just getting greasy goals around the net and keeping that going.”
Cozens is leading the team in hits after registering six on Sunday, becoming the first player on the team to reach 100 on the season. “I think that’s a big part of my game,” said Cozens.
“I think when I get involved physically, the rest of my game kind of follows with that. So it’s a part of my identity, it’s a part of the player I want to be, I think that’s a big part of my game.”
“I think it has, I think it’s bled through our team, to be honest,” said Travis Green about Cozens developing a cycle-heavy game.
“But I think that is a big part of his game. You know, he’s a big body, skates well, protects the puck well, he’s built for certain areas of the rink, certain types of game. He’s got a good shot. And he’s still young, he’s still learning lots of different parts of his game and I’ve seen progression in not just his offensive game, but still his defensive game.”
Since joining Ottawa, the 24-year-old is playing at a 23 goal, 40 assist 82-game pace. He ranks second on the team with 81 shots this season, and first in both power play goals (six) and points (15).
Cozens has also improved in the faceoff circle, winning 54.9 per cent of his draws this season when he had previously been above 50 per cent just once (last season). Only Claude Giroux, who leads the league in that department among qualifiers, has won more draws than Cozens on the team this year.
After six meetings, the ‘Workhorse from Whitehorse’ says it’s no longer as weird playing his former team — unlike during his first game last March, when he says he “didn’t look at anyone, didn’t talk to anyone, just tried to pretend that I didn’t know anyone.”
“It’s a big game, obviously with where we are in the standings, where everyone is in the standings,” said Cozens. “You want to enjoy your break, and I think I’ll enjoy it a lot more if we get the win tonight, especially playing against Buffalo, so it’s a big one for us.”
