Amidst all of the call-ups who have taken their place in the Sens lineup this season, a stand out early on was Dave Dziurzynski who was thrust into, and embraced, a shutdown role with the team.

Having missed the last couple of games after sustaining a concussion in a fight against Toronto's Frazer McLaren, Dziurzynski practiced with the team for the first time on Thursday and appears to be nearing a return.

Here is his update on his status:

On how he's feeling...

I'm feeling good, yeah. I'm getting close so a couple more days in the gym and practices and hopefully get back out there soon.

On what his symptoms were like...

Just a little headache and the side of my neck is tight up from where I got punched, but just little headaches, no real big symptoms at all.

On fan outreach since his injury...

It feels good to get fan support around Ottawa and from my family and stuff. It's a bad thing that happened but obviously it's part of the game. I'm not going to dwell on it too much, just going to get out there as soon as possible and play my game again.

It'll be a big boost to the lineup when Dziurzynski returns. Prior to his injury he was averaging close to 20 shifts a night and playing against top lines consistently alongside Chris Neil and Zack Smith and locking them down. Dziurzynski also chipped in with a couple of goals in 10 games.

At the very least, he'll be another player to have in the fold who has proved he can play NHL calibre hockey. For a team that has had as many injury issues as the Sens, that's a luxury that goes a long way as players begin to return.