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All in all, not a bad week for the Senators. They outplayed each of their opponents, which led to two wins (over the Penguins and Blues) and a loss (to the Maple Leafs). Now Ottawa is in a three-way tie for third in the Atlantic Division, with about 120 games in hand on the second-place Bruins.
Biggest Gains: Mike Hoffman
Remember when he wasn’t defensively-responsible enough to play regular minutes? Turns out he now belongs on the checking line, shutting down other teams’ top lines and scoring three goals in three games. Imagine how well he could be doing if he was getting passes from Mark Stone instead of Tom Pyatt? (Also imagine how caved the third line would be if Hoffman got replaced with Curtis Lazar or something.)
Biggest Losses: Chris Kelly
I’ve harped on him before in this section, but it looks like Guy Boucher is finally taking note. He played his lowest TOI total of the season on Saturday against the Leafs at 6:58, a full 1.5 minutes behind his previous low. If he’s no longer trusted to play defensive minutes (which he shouldn’t be), he may be on his way out of the NHL.
Ups and Downs Week 14
| Player | Trend | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Player | Trend | Notes |
| Goaltenders | ||
| Craig Anderson | ━ | At this point, he probably won't be back until earliest after the All-Star break |
| Mike Condon | ━ | Great against Pittsburgh, not good against the Leafs or Blues. But it's hard to give a down arrow to a guy who will be starting every game until the apocalypse |
| Chris Driedger | ━ | Did you know he's the new callup? |
| Andrew Hammond | + | On pace for 6.5 starts this year |
| Matt O'Connor | ━ | Played 0 seconds in his callup |
| Defensemen | ||
| Mark Borowiecki | ━ | Somehow played 19 minutes against the Pens, though it was probably his worst game of the week |
| Cody Ceci | ━ | Not convinced he should be a 20+ minute guy, but he's at least not getting totally caved |
| Fredrik Claesson | ━ | Got told to get an apartment in Ottawa - even though he actually plays once a month |
| Erik Karlsson | ▲ | Nice to see him get four points in three games to rectify what was a worrisome trend |
| Marc Methot | ━ | Not as good a week as I would've liked to see from him |
| Dion Phaneuf | ▲ | Really hope he says "Suck it, Toronto" after he scores against them |
| Chris Wideman | ━ | Nice to see him hit a career-high in minutes played against the Penguins, clearing the 20-minute hurdle |
| Forwards | ||
| Derick Brassard | ▲ | Hope he buys Mark Stone a new car at the end of the season |
| Ryan Dzingel | ▲ | Two points, not too shabby |
| Mike Hoffman | ▲ | See Biggest Gains |
| Chris Kelly | ▼ | See Biggest Losses |
| Curtis Lazar | ▼ | I don't see how playing him with Kelly is better than scratching him at this point |
| Clarke MacArthur | + | Hi Clarke |
| Chris Neil | ▼ | His linemates seem to finally be dragging him down |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | ▲ | His point totals have gone up since getting a goal-scorer on his line |
| Tom Pyatt | ▲ | Taking advantage of a chance to play with Hoffman by putting up some points |
| Bobby Ryan | ▲ | Point-per-game this week; we'll take what we can get |
| Zack Smith | ━ | Ho-hum, just two points this week |
| Mark Stone | ▲ | Three more goals ties him for the team lead |
| Kyle Turris | ▲ | Four points is big for what should be the team's top-line centre |
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