Senators Ups and Downs: Week 24
Well, there's no time left to trade, so the Senators are playing the hand they've got for the rest of the year. Based on last week, it looks like what they've got is a team that will give a competitive effort every night and a goalie that might steal a game here or there. Considering their current record, that's a recipe that feels good enough for a lottery pick. At least it will be entertaining on the way there, we suppose.
Biggest Gains: Bobby Butler
Finally, no one steals this place from Butler. Has probably been the team's best forward for the past three weeks. Since his first two points against Edmonton, Butler has 9 points (6G, 3A) in ten games. His latest goal against Chris Mason of the Thrashers was a thing of beauty.
Biggest Losses: Francis Lessard
No Senators player has done less with less this week. In three games, Lessard has two shots, three hits, and one embarrassing "fight." We're not really sure what his contribution to this team is. For an alternate view, check out Caden's post here.
(read on for the complete rundown...)
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Pascal Leclaire |  | Hasn't played since aggravating his injury in the AHL. |
| Curtis McElhinney |  | Has not yet played a game. |
| Craig Anderson |  | Lost some of his shine in a 4-1 drubbing by the Rangers on Friday night, but was coming off a one-goal, 42-save game the night before. Continues to provide the best goaltending the Senators have had all year. |
| Defensemen | ||
| Sergei Gonchar | | Notched a magical assist against Atlanta and a power play goal (Ottawa's only tally) against the Rangers. Seems like the time off for injury did him well. |
| Erik Karlsson | | A two-game point streak (both assists) may be a sign that he's coming out of his slump. |
| Brian Lee | | Lee continues his steady play. We can't give him a green arrow for it, but with games like the one he played against Boston (4 blocked shots, 1 SOG in a 1-0 loss) we're tempted. |
| Chris Phillips | | Big Game Chris got paid, and has played steadily since then. We didn't give Lee an up arrow for steady play, and we're not giving Phillips one for it, either. |
| Filip Kuba | | His play slipped some this week, though not trending downward as a whole. Mark suspects his play is affecting Erik Karlsson, but that can't be proven. |
| Derek Smith | | A serviceable body until Matt Carkner can return to the lineup. |
| Chris Campoli | | Traded before playing any games last week and brought Ottawa a nice return. Just had a two-assist night against Calgary for his new team, the Chicago Blackhawks. |
| Matt Carkner | | Missed this week due to injury. |
| Forwards | ||
| Colin Greening | | An injury to Milan Michalek opened up an opportunity for Greening on the top line, where we speculated he at least deserved the chance to play. Results? First NHL goal (albeit flukey) against Atlanta, 11 hits, and 9 SOG in three games. There could be something here, but he needs plenty of polish still. |
| Jason Spezza |  | Not a good week for the center. Just one point in three games and a minus-two overall. Didn't seem to generate much offense. |
| Bobby Butler | | See "Biggest Gains." |
| Marek Svatos | | Still waiting for his first point as a Senator. Not very noticeable when playing. |
| Ryan Shannon | | Shannon can't possibly be a second-line center in the NHL, can he? Probably not, but he sure looks the part as of late. Oozing with leadership and creativity these days. |
| Erik Condra | | How do you follow up the first two-goal game of your career? If you're Erik Condra, you put up no points in three games with a minus-2 rating. Not to worry, he's still figuring out the game at the NHL level. |
| Nick Foligno | | Another goal this week. Foligno has looked very strong with the puck and very hungry without it recently. We can't help but wonder why he doesn't have that same intensity all the time. |
| Zack Smith | | Still figuring out his third line responsibilities. He's getting by on hard work, but that can't last forever. |
| Chris Neil | | Seems right at home with Z. Smith and Foligno: 17 hits this week! |
| Francis Lessard | | See "Biggest Losses." |
| Jesse Winchester | | Looked good in his return from injury. Hardest working player against Atlanta and generated two short-handed opportunities on the penalty kill against the Rangers. |
| Ryan Potulny | | Like Marek Svatos, has been mostly invisible since being acquired. Might be better suited to the AHL. |
| Daniel Alfredsson | | Out indefinitely with a back injury. |
| Milan Michalek | | Out indefinitely with a foot injury. |
| Peter Regin | | Out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. |