The Senators (4-7-0) have lost five in a row and are last in the Atlantic Division entering their game against the Vancouver Canucks at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, SNP, ESPN+, SN NOW).
"I'm very happy with him," Dorion said. "I'm happy with the job D.J. has done, his staff has done. … I think D.J. has done a good job, he's shown he can win. I'm not giving votes of confidence or anything. D.J. is our coach, he's going to be our coach. I have faith in how this team plays under D.J."
Smith, who is in his fourth season as coach, is 85-111-24 with the Senators. He signed a two-year contract on July 28, 2021, that runs through the 2023-24 season with a team option for 2024-25.
Ottawa has not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2017, when it lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final. However, expectations were raised this season following the additions of forwards Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux, and goalie Cam Talbot during the summer.
Although the Senators rank 10th in the NHL in goals per game (3.45), they are also allowing the same amount, which is 23rd in the League. They also are 26th on the power play at 18.4 percent, and 18th on the penalty kill at 77.3 percent.
"The one stat I look a lot at is 5-on-5 expected goals against, the differential, and we're sixth in the League right now. Last year we were 30th," Dorion said. "There's a lot of positives there. If we're sixth at 5-on-5, that would tell you something's not going right. Our power play is 26th. There's a lot of room for improvement. Our penalty kill, nine out of 11 games we've let in a goal.
"I think there's areas we can improve, but overall, am I elated? No. I think I'm happy with how we're playing for the most part. I think these next 10 games will be very important for our season."
The Senators also announced center Josh Norris will not need surgery to repair a shoulder injury he sustained on Oct. 22. Instead, he will work on rehabilitation and strengthening the shoulder.
The Senators had previously announced on Oct. 26 that the 23-year-old might be out for the season.
Norris missed 15 games last season because of a shoulder injury. Dorion said it's same shoulder but a different type of injury.
Norris, who had two points (one goal, one assist) in five games prior to the injury, signed an eight-year, $63.6 million contract ($7.95 million average annual value) with Ottawa on July 15 after he set NHL career highs in goals (35), assists (20) and points (55) in 66 games last season.
