Lightning's Austin Watson: Piles up penalty minutes
Rotowire
Watson racked up 26 PIM in Friday's 8-2 win against the Hurricanes.
Watson didn't score any points, but he was very busy. He was whistled for slashing and abuse of officials in the second period. He also picked up a pair of roughing minors and a game misconduct in the third period. Watson has one goal, 43 PIM and 23 hits over 10 appearances this season.
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Lightning's Austin Watson: Still no points this season
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Watson still hasn't found the scoresheet through seven appearances this season.
He logged just 6:46 of ice time in Saturday's 6-4 win over Edmonton, getting seven PIM. Watson is struggling to get meaningful ice in Tampa Bay. He has skated in just seven of the team's 18 games, and his time has ranged from a high of 8:55 to a low of 3:30. Watson is on the downside of his NHL career.
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Lightning's Austin Watson: Inks one-year deal
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Watson signed a one-year, $776,665 contract with Tampa Bay on Monday.
Watson managed to land a contract with the Lightning after attending training camp with the team on a professional tryout agreement. In 75 games with Ottawa last season, he generated nine goals, 11 points, 123 PIM and 165 hits. He will provide some physicality in a fourth-line role with Tampa Bay this campaign, when he gets the opportunity to play.
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Lightning's Austin Watson: Links up with Tampa on PTO
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Watson (lower body) signed a professional tryout agreement with the Lightning on Wednesday, per CapFriendly.
Watson was reportedly looking for a multi-year deal this offseason, but he'll have to settle for a camp invitation. The 31-year-old forward is a strong bottom-six option with penalty-killing skills, and there's a good chance he could receive a contract from the Lightning to bolster their fourth line before the 2023-24 season gets underway.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Not playing Saturday
Rotowire
Watson (lower body) will not play Saturday versus Tampa Bay, Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen reports.
Watson was injured Thursday versus the Panthers. He has nine goals, two assists, 123 PIM and 165 hits in 75 games this season. Watson will be replaced on the fourth line by Julien Gauthier.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Exits with lower-body injury
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Watson (lower body) won't finish Thursday's game versus the Panthers.
Watson was hurt in the second period, though it's unclear when the injury occurred. If he can't play Saturday versus the Lightning, Dylan Gambrell or Julien Gauthier could enter the lineup.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Lights lamp twice against Detroit
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Watson scored two goals, one a short-handed game-winner, in Tuesday's 6-1 win over the Red Wings.
Both tallies came back-to-back in the first period, breaking open a 1-1 tie and sending the Senators toward a rout. Watson has three goals in his last three games but hadn't found the scoresheet at all in his prior 15, and the fourth-line grinder's main fantasy value still comes from his physical play -- through 56 contests on the season, he has 72 PIM and 132 hits to go along with his seven goals and nine points.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Set to play
Rotowire
Watson (illness) is expected to return to action Sunday against St. Louis, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.
Watson has supplied six points, 52 shots on goal, 109 hits and 56 PIM in 50 games this season. He is projected to play alongside Parker Kelly and Dylan Gambrell after sitting out Friday's 3-2 overtime loss to Chicago.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Game-time decision
Rotowire
Watson (illness) will be a game-time decision Sunday against St. Louis, Claire Hanna of TSN reports.
Watson is expected to take part in pregame warmups before a decision on his status is made. Still, it seems probable that he will return after missing Friday's 4-3 overtime loss to Chicago because Tyler Motte will be scratched Sunday for trade-related reasons. If Watson can't play, Dillon Heatherington could suit up as the seventh defenseman.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Out with illness
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Watson (illness) will not be in the lineup versus Chicago on Friday, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports.
Watson's spot in the lineup is expected to be taken by Derick Brassard, who was a healthy scratch Tuesday. Watson has four goals and six points in 50 games this season. Consider him day-to-day after Friday's tilt.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Opens Saturday's scoring
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Watson scored a goal during a 4-2 loss to the host Red Wings on Saturday.
Watson, who notched his first marker in six outings, opened the scoring by beating goalie Magnus Hellberg blocker side for a 1-0, first-period lead. The 30-year-old left winger has endured two prolonged goalless droughts this season, going 13 games (Nov. 19-Dec. 14) and 15 outings to open the campaign.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Finally bends twine
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Watson scored his first goal of the season against the Sabres on Wednesday.
Watson has struggled to produce offensively to start the year with just three points in 16 outings. Not surprisingly, his minutes have also been limited, as the 30-year-old winger is averaging just 8:43 of ice time. Considering Watson has never reached the 20-point mark in his eight-year NHL career, this doesn't seem like the season he will suddenly start contributing.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Logs first point in 2022-23
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Watson picked up his first point Tuesday in a 7-5 victory over the Bruins.
Watson picked up the lone assist on the game winner as he intercepted an Anton Stralman pass behind the net and found Mark Kastelic in the slot. Kastelic easily bested Jeremy Swayman to make the score 6-3.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Five points in last five games
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Watson scored a goal and added an assist Tuesday in a 4-1 win over the Red Wings.
Watson opened the scoring with jut five seconds remaining in the first period. He scored from the high slot on a quick pass from Josh Norris. He picked up the assist on an empty-net goal by Tim Stutzle that put the Sens up 4-1 with 14 seconds left in the game. Watson has just eight goals and four assists in 58 games this season, but his game has been much warmer lately. He has four goals and an assist in his last five games.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Lights lamp twice in win
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Watson scored two goals in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Canadians.
He opened and closed the scoring for the Senators, getting them on the board late in the first period to tie the game at 1-1 before flipping home an empty-netter late in the third. Watson only has six goals in 54 games on the season as he toils away on the fourth line, but three of them have come in the last three games.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Eligible to return
Rotowire
Watson has served his two-game suspension and is eligible to return Thursday versus the Sabres.
Watson is expected to play in a bottom-six role after his two-game ban. The 31-year-old has just three points in 31 games this season, though he's added 93 hits and 55 PIM. Given the almost total lack of offense, Watson isn't a player fantasy managers need to follow closely.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Suspended two games
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Watson received a two-game suspension Sunday for interference on Boston's Jack Ahcan, Conor Ryan of MassLive.com reports.
Watson has averaged 14:18 of ice time and been held without a point over the last 10 games. The 31-year-old will miss Sunday's game against Washington and Tuesday's tilt versus St. Louis while suspended.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Gets physical in loss
Rotowire
Watson contributed two PIM and four hits in a 3-1 loss to the Sabres on Tuesday.
Watson has found himself in the box a lot lately, with 13 PIM over his last eight games. The 31-year-old has played in just 19 games this season, with two goals and 34 PIM.
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Senators' Austin Watson: Clears virus protocols
Rotowire
Watson was activated off the NHL's COVID-19 protocols list Saturday.
As long as he's fit enough to play, Watson will likely slot into a bottom-six role for Monday's clash with Colorado. The 30-year-old winger has gone scoreless through two games this season.
Watson was placed in the league's COVID-19 protocols Friday.
Watson was just two games back from an ankle injury and will now need to miss at least 10 days, barring a false positive. As such, fantasy players should be anticipating Watson will be out for the next five games, during which time Logan Shaw should jump back into the lineup.
