Ottawa, ONT. (WGR 550) – Tuesday is Josh Norris’ first game back to Ottawa since the Senators traded him to the Buffalo Sabres on March 7. Norris spoke after Tuesday’s morning skate and was emotional to come back to a place where he enjoyed playing,

“I loved being here, I was here for a long time and it’s good to be back.”

The fans in Ottawa always loved Norris and he appreciated that, especially since he never had the chance to thank them,

“I have mixed emotions, I’m in a great spot now, I’m super happy in Buffalo, I love Buffalo, but I have nothing bad to say about Ottawa. I never really got to say thanks to all the fans because when I left, I just left quietly, they were always great to me and it really felt like they had my back even when I was injured, so I always appreciated that about the people here.”

Jarmo Kekalainen chatted with a few of us Tuesday morning to talk about new associate general manager Marc Bergevin and assistant GM Josh Flynn. Bergevin is the former GM of the Montreal Canadiens and most recently a senior advisor with the Los Angeles Kings. Kekalainen said,

“He brings a lot of experience which is something I was looking for. Somebody that has been in my seat and knows the ins and outs of it and what you’re dealing with, so I’ve always had a lot of respect for him when we were talking about things.

“I know he works hard, a good player evaluator. I think his track record in Montreal as far as trades go is one of the best in the league, so I think it’s a great fit for us.”

The two men had never worked together before, but they talked a lot and saw each other out scouting too.

In Columbus, Flynn dealt with player contracts and the collective bargaining agreement. Kekalainen worked closely with him and said,

“Josh is a guy that we worked together for a long time, he’s extremely organized, he’s an attorney, he knows the cap, the CBA in and out, he knows the analytics, he’s got scouting experience, so he knows exactly how I want things organized, so that will bring a valuable asset to our staff.”

It doesn’t sound like current assistant general managers Jerry Forton and Mark Jakubowski are going anywhere. Kekalainen likes what he’s seen from scouting and how it’s organized.

“We’ve talked amongst the staff that everybody is going to have an important role and the responsibilities are going to be spread and we’re going to be working on this together as a team and we’ll all work together.”

Kekalainen is not backing off at all in his belief that this is a playoff team this season.

Buffalo’s six-game winning streak has gotten them past Columbus, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers by point percentages.

After playing six straight games, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stepped into the crease on Sunday and played extremely well in the win over the New Jersey Devils. Lyon will be back in the net with five straight wins of his own. He’s 8-6-3 with a 2.92 goals against and .906 save percentage.

Tage Thompson has goals in six straight games and is on a pace to score 42 goals.

In nine games this season Norris has four goals and six assists for 10 points. Over 82 games that would be 36 goals and 55 assists for 91 points.

It appears Jordan Greenway will be back in the lineup for Isak Rosen. Tyson Kozak returned to practice, but will not play.

Ottawa is also hot with winning four in a row and five out of six. Their .571 points percentage would have them tied with the Florida Panthers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

Former Sabre Dylan Cozens has 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points. Over 82 games that works out to 26 goals and 37 assists for 63 points. He still isn’t very good defensively as his plus/minus would end up minus-21.

Former Sabre Linus Ullmark gets the net. He’s 14-8-4 with a 2.85 goals against and .884 save percentage. Ullmark has won his last four.

Captain Brady Tkachuk has been back from injury for 12 games and has six goals and seven assists for 13 points. He’s on a five-game points streak where he has five goals and seven points.

Tim Stutzle has gotten hot with six goals and eight assists for 14 points in seven games.

Drake Batherson has also been a handful with six goals and eight assists for 14 points in 10 games.

Join the Bulldog at 7:00 for the pregame when you’ll hear from Kekalainen, Lindy Ruff and Norris