On his 20th birthday, Stützle was removed from the NHL's Covid-19 protocol earlier today and is eligible to play the Oilers tonight.
"I feel pretty good," Stützle said this morning after an optional morning skate. "It hurt that I couldn't play the game against Calgary but it was fun watching the boys win."
Stützle felt a little tired and cold but suffered no major symptoms during his bout with Covid-19. He was last on the ice Monday in Edmonton for the Sens' practice and skated for nearly 30 minutes this morning.
"I'm just going to play as easy as I can and play my best game," he said. "The whole team played really well against Calgary so I'm just going to step in there, try my best and help [the team] and play good defence."
He'll step back into his now-usual position of centre that was temporarily taken by Nicholas Paul Thursday night. Paul responded with two goals in the first 20 minutes of play to help lead the Sens to victory.
"Everyone knows Nick Is capable of doing that," Stützle said. "He's shown it all his career, he can play any position. I was really happy for him and really pumped for him."
In 29 games this year, the German has five goals and 15 points. He's notched seven points (four goals) over his previous eight contests and it's no coincidence it's come as he's become more use to playing down the middle.
"I really like it a lot," Stützle said of playing centre. "I like having the puck down the middle and trying to break out. I feel more comfortable game by game."
