Senators ups and downs: Week 17

by Mark Parisi on Feb 6, 2012 7:00 AM EST in Ottawa Senators ups and downs

Jared Cowen needs to get back to this. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

(Ups and downs is a feature that looks at the individual performances of the Ottawa Senators for the past week.)

What goes up must come down. The Senators, who had been winning dangerously for so much of the month of January, have watched much of the luck that buoyed them to those wins evaporate. Not coincidentally, their playoff cushion has evaporated along with that luck: out of a possible six points this week, the team earned one.

The week started out promisingly, with the Senators giving the Bruins all they could handle, jumping out to a 3-1 lead before eventually losing 4-3. There was plenty of positive momentum to carry into a game against the surging New York Islanders, but the team came out flat and wound up sucking on a 2-1 OT loss despite scoring the first goal for the first time in eight games. Unfortunately, that was the momentum they carried into the next night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The result was a 5-0 hammering that should have left a bad taste at every level of the organization, from the owner on down to the fans. Things don't get any easier this week: first on tap are the red-hot St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators.

Biggest gains: Jim O'Brien
We really struggled with picking out a biggest gainer this week, which says a great deal about the players' performance as a whole. But hey, as a callup he made it onto the top line--and not out of mercy, but due to the fact that he was one of the best players on the ice. So, there's that.

Biggest losses: Jared Cowen
Cowen had what can only be described as a rookie week against all three opponents. Against the Islanders, he was responsible for both goals, as he inexplicably left his position to help his partner, Gonchar, and the goal-scorer filled the spot Cowen left vacant. He exhibited similar poor decision-making against Toronto, getting caught flat-footed more than once. This obviously means he is a mega-bust, and will never develop into a top pairing player.

(read on for the full rundown....)

Goalies	Trend	Notes
Craig Anderson		The game winner he gave up to Boston was a stinker, but we're not ready to blame him for the losses to New York or Toronto.
Alex Auld		At this point, he almost deserves a green arrow just for hanging on this long.
Defensemen	Trend	Notes
Matt Carkner		Not a good week to be a slow defenseman in Ottawa
Jared Cowen		See "Biggest losses."
Sergei Gonchar		So, you're a veteran, guaranteed Hall-of-Famer, and your rookie partner feels like he needs to come over and help you out. Write your own punchline in the comments.
Erik Karlsson		One point (a goal) in three games. Forget about the Norris talk for now.
Filip Kuba		His strong game against Boston saves him from further criticism. But just barely.
Brian Lee		Still sidelined with an injury, which is probably for the best--he can't be blamed for this week's mess
Chris Phillips		Not a good week to be a slow defenseman in Ottawa
Forwards	Trend	Notes
Daniel Alfredsson		He's trying to carry the team, but he just can't at age 39.
Bobby Butler		Strong candidate for "Biggest losses." Scratched for an AHL callup for two straight games.
Erik Condra		Condra is the forward that Paul MacLean has been using to try and get lines going, which says something about what the coach thinks of him.
Kaspars Daugavins		Rooster is ice cold.
Nick Foligno		One of the few Senators who seems to be giving it his all, he unfortunately doesn't have much to show for it.
Colin Greening		Had a goal against Boston, and got demoted to the third line for it, where he went minus-2 on the week.
Zenon Konopka		No points, a minus rating, and momentum-killing penalties. Not a good week for Konopka.
Milan Michalek		Just one assist in three games.
Chris Neil		Neil cares--11 hits in three games proves that--but caring doesn't win games by itself.
Jim O'Brien		See "Biggest gains."
Zack Smith		Z. Smith does Neil one better, adding a goal to his own 11 hits. Just don't say he gives a crap.
Jason Spezza		No points in three games? He might be the coldest player on the team.
Kyle Turris		Well, he managed a goal, but not much else.

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Comments

Ice cold

Great evaluation Mark. We sure are ice cold.

When so may are saying, “don’t panic”, it’s because underneath their words there is panic.

This kind of situation is where leaders are defined.

by Marvellous on Feb 6, 2012 7:54 AM EST reply actions

Remember way back when...

the watchword was “Fail for Nail”. We are rebuilding, folks!

by wandrr on Feb 6, 2012 7:54 AM EST reply actions

I'm actually surprised by the number of green arrows

But I can’t really argue with it… even if individuals have improved, there were too many passengers last week.

Silver Seven | Twitter | Facebook | E-mail | eBay

by Peter Raaymakers on Feb 6, 2012 8:25 AM EST reply actions

A week to forget, that's for sure...

As for O’Brien… who else thinks he should be seeing more ice time than Bobby B? Butler hasn’t done much this season, and has showed us virtually nothing of what got him a 1-way contract.

ALFIE! ALFIE! ALFIE!

by BigSlice on Feb 6, 2012 9:11 AM EST reply actions

That's a whole lotta red

But I expected more red, to be honest.

by B_T on Feb 6, 2012 9:29 AM EST reply actions

So did I

I thought the whole thing was going to be read arrows, honestly.

Silver Seven - The Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators Blogs

by Mark Parisi on Feb 6, 2012 9:32 AM EST up reply actions

And by read, I mean red

That’s what I get for posting at work.

Silver Seven - The Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa Senators Blogs

by Mark Parisi on Feb 6, 2012 9:36 AM EST up reply actions

Or "Wear wead" as Anton would say it.

by whatsinaname on Feb 6, 2012 9:43 AM EST up reply actions

Cowen

This obviously means he is a mega-bust, and will never develop into a top pairing player.
This is wrong he is a rookie and going to make mistakes. As long as he will learn from them

by Mikem1992 on Feb 6, 2012 9:37 AM EST reply actions

It was sarcasm

Drew Brees- the REAL MVP.

by Alex Swift on Feb 6, 2012 9:39 AM EST up reply actions

Welcome to the site!

We’re really sarcastic around here, and that was an example of it. Mark was just being facetious.

Silver Seven | Twitter | Facebook | E-mail | eBay

by Peter Raaymakers on Feb 6, 2012 9:42 AM EST up reply actions

This was a rough week, but with the exception of the Toronto loss, the rest don't bother me.

Toronto was a 4 point game. Boston is so far ahead it doesn’t matter, and the Islanders have a long way to go before they make the playoffs. Hopefully this brings them back down to Earth, they learn from their experience and now they come out of the gate this week ready to play.

Here is where Paulrus is going to earn his Jack Adams.

by The Tif on Feb 6, 2012 9:46 AM EST reply actions

the rest sure bother me!

the Islanders loss was pretty frustrating – we deserved a worse fate than an OTL from what I saw of that game. Losing to Boston in what is supposed to be our best period (law of averages is quickly catching up to us there) in a great divisional game was really disappointing – i guess the two-goal-lead-is-the-worst-in-hockey proved to be true.

I was really hoping that the Keystone-Cops defensive system that is the Sens i’ve been watching was going to round into something a little less like chaos. I’ve also found our offense seems terribly ‘un-creative’ – we just didn’t create the kind of chances that the Islanders and the Leafs were creating in those games – a lot of shots from the outside. And our PP has been just ugly.

I was ready to accept the results of a tough Western road swing and losing by a goal to the Bruins at least had a bit of an upside to it. The last two games have been really troubling though and we’re going to have to play our assess off to not become a punchline at the end of this season.

Maybe it’s just the Superbowl party hangover talking…

by west-sider on Feb 6, 2012 11:52 AM EST up reply actions