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It’s been a week of ups and downs. The Senators lost a pair of 4-1 decisions to the Rangers in New York, losing control of the series, only to claw it back in a thrilling 5-4 overtime win on Saturday. Now the Sens get two chances to end the series, starting tonight with Game 6.
Biggest Gains: Zack Smith
The Sens lost Smith early in Game 3, but thankfully he returned. He’s shored up the PK, and ensured that Boucher doesn’t feel the need to return Chris Kelly to the lineup for defensive zone draws alone. Z dominated the game in terms of shot attempts this week, and put up three points in two games. I’ve realized I like this team a lot more when he plays.
Biggest Losses: Ryan Dzingel
When you’ve been a healthy scratch and get a chance to play only to return to the press box, it’s not good. (D)Zinger got his chance in the lineup, and showed he could move fast and stuff, but he can’t seem to finish. Chris Neil likely won’t play tonight, so he could draw back in, but it looks like Boucher doesn’t trust him as much as he did back in January.
Ups and Downs
| Player | Trend | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Player | Trend | Notes |
| Goaltenders | ||
| Craig Anderson | ▼ | 12 goals allowed in three games doesn't earn you much praise |
| Mike Condon | ━ | His 20 minutes of play didn't inspire much confidence |
| Defensemen | ||
| Mark Borowiecki | + | Hasn't even been practising |
| Cody Ceci | ━ | Adequate in my view |
| Fredrik Claesson | ━ | Scratched once this week, but he looked good in the games he played to me |
| Ben Harpur | ━ | Also scratched once - he looked decnet with Chris Wideman |
| Erik Karlsson | ▲ | The Rangers just seem to have no answer for him |
| Marc Methot | ━ | He's been about what the team needs |
| Dion Phaneuf | ━ | Not sure how, but he's been winning the shot battle all of a sudden |
| Chris Wideman | ▲ | Recovered from his healthy scratches to once again dominate possession |
| Forwards | ||
| Derick Brassard | ━ | Just the one point this series, but it was pretty big |
| Alexandre Burrows | ━ | He's been admittedly much better than I expected him to be - another game-winning assist on his playoff resume |
| Ryan Dzingel | ▼ | See Biggest Losses |
| Mike Hoffman | ━ | I expect nothing more of Hoff than to dominate the ice and take a million shots |
| Chris Kelly | ━ | Still hasn't played |
| Clarke MacArthur | ▲ | Finished above 60% of the 5v5 shot attempts in each game this week |
| Chris Neil | ━ | May have inspired the Sens to victory on Saturday; also played 2:26 that game so would've been as effective if he coached |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | ▲ | Earned powerplay time, bumped up to 20 minutes per game - Pageau is having a great series |
| Tom Pyatt | ▼ | Ottawa's worst possession-driving forward, but at least he has one goal on one shot |
| Bobby Ryan | ━ | Looks fast and interested, driving the play, but just one (gorgeous) assist to show for it |
| Zack Smith | ▲ | See Biggest Gains |
| Viktor Stålberg | ━ | Still no points this series, but he looks really good to my eyes |
| Mark Stone | ━ | Played his best game of the series on Saturday; hopefully the injury is behind him |
| Kyle Turris | ▲ | Two goals (one important) this week, and about 1000 hits on Saturday. Candidate for Biggest Gains |
| Tommy Wingels | ▼ | Played one mediocre game, then got scratched for coach's pet Pyatt |