Senators relieved as speedy Turris returns to action
No. 1 centre’s offensive firepower missed during three-game absence due to illness
The Ottawa Senators got a glimpse of life without centre Kyle Turris.
The Senators finished with a 1-1-1 record in the three games Turris missed because of a viral infection that forced him to the sidelines. Turris made his return Thursday night.
In his absence, club officials weren’t thrilled with what they witnessed.
As coach Guy Boucher noted before facing the Red Wings on Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre, if you lose your top centre for any length of time, they’re not easy to replace — and Turris plays a particularly big role.
“If you take one of your top two centres out in the NHL, it’s a gigantic hole, period,” Boucher said. “Turris, specifically with him, it’s speed. We’re not a fast team, but we play fast. We compensate for the fact some teams are faster than us, like Detroit, Montreal, Toronto and (New) Jersey.
“We know the Rangers were faster than us in the playoffs, so we played very fast. We transition extremely fast, break out fast and so on.
“We have a team defence that tries not to let the other team pick up speed. When we don’t play that way, we let the oppo- nent have their way, and that’s what happened against Montreal.”
One of Turris’ best attributes is his ability to skate and think fast and, according to Boucher, that can cause “fear” in opponents. Turris skated with speedy Ryan Dzingel and rugged Zack Smith on his wings.
“When you have more speed in your lineup, like Turris, you keep the opponent on their heels rather than them keep you on their heels,” Boucher added.
“You have more tools and more firepower, not necessarily to score, but to keep that momentum and that speed to put the opponent on their heels.
“(Turris) is a guy who could be gone at any moment (with his speed). If you look at him and (Dzingel) as a pair they work together really well. It’s tough to play against that because you know the minute you don’t stop them they’re gone — whether it’s a breakaway, or 2-on-1. That’s huge.”
With Turris set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion has made it clear he wants to keep the 28-year-old in the fold. The club is continuing discussions with Turris’ agent, Kurt Overhardt, to get a deal in place.
Nobody is sure if Overhardt has backed off on his demand for a seven-year deal, but the two sides do have some common ground because the Senators want to Turris to stay and all indications are that he wants to be here.
If they can get over the hurdle on term, then that will likely lead to an agreement. Dorion is tight-lipped about discussions, but if you look at his history, he’s usually been able to get players signed.
The Senators didn’t need to lose Turris for three games to confirm what he means to the team, but absence does make the heart grow fonder.
It’s not easy to find a No. 1 centre. Turris’ teammates were happy to have him back. “It’s big minutes,” Smith said. “When you have a guy play that role, and take as many faceoffs as he does, and the role he plays on the power play, it’s tough to fill that role. We’re definitely excited to have him back.
“For me, personally, I’m excited because we had some good chemistry before I got hurt and then he got hurt. He’s a big part of our offence. There are so many games when he makes things tick offensively.”
A key for the Senators is to have balance throughout their forward lines. You can ask guys like Nate Thompson to play up the lineup, but that’s not the role they’re accustomed to getting
When Bobby Ryan returns from his broken finger later this month, the Senators will have a full complement of forwards.