82 Games of Stützle, Norris, and Pinto

When Shane Pinto joined the Ottawa Senators to finish off the 2020-21 season, the Ottawa Senators were the envy of many with their young talent up the middle. Josh Norris was finishing up a solid rookie season, and Tim Stützle was regarded as one of the most promising young talents in the league. Unfortunately, Pinto missed most of the next season with an injury. Then, it was Norris’ injuries that got in the way of this trio playing together. There was also the Shane Pinto suspension that cost him half of last season. The good that came out of this was Stützle ending up as a permanent centre, a role that he has thrived in. The frustrating part was the feeling of missed opportunities due to so many games without Pinto, Norris, or both.  Finally, after parts of five seasons, this trio has played 82 games together. Let’s dive into the details on the 82 games of Stützle, Norris, and Pinto.

READ MORE: Appreciating the Ottawa Senators Defensive Play

Ottawa Senators Record

Here’s the Ottawa Senators record by year with all three in the lineup:

• 2020-21: 9-2-1
• 2021-22: 3-2
• 2022-23: 4-4
• 2023-24: 9-5-2
• 2024-25: 23-14-4
• Total: 48-27-7

That’s 103 points in the 82 games of this trio. That would easily be good enough to make the playoffs. Looking at this season in particular, the Senators have gone 4-6 when either Norris or Pinto have missed a game.

Individual Stats

Here are the numbers for the three players when in the lineup together:

• Tim Stützle: 25 goals, 67 points
• Josh Norris: 29 goals, 51 points
• Shane Pinto: 20 goal, 46 points

Given his offensive abilities, Stützle’s numbers don’t jump off the page. However, it should be noted that this includes 17 games in his first two years in the league, before he had really developed as a scorer. He scored just 9 points in those 17 games.

Moving Forward

With three centres capable of 20+ goals per 82 games, the Senators should like their chances to win the battle up the middle in just about any game. Of course, it’s made challenging when the three have managed to play 82 times together out of a possible 309 games. It’s been different this season, though. They’ve all been in the lineup for 80% of the Ottawa Senators games. All three players have bought into Travis Green’s defensive system, with Norris and Pinto both becoming key penalty killers. If this trio can stay healthy over the last 31 games of the season, Senators fans should finally be able to enjoy playoff hockey for the first time since 2017.