Ottawa Senators Ups and Downs: Week 5
Dzingel's up again, while the snipers are down
It was a week of balance for the Senators, with a regulation loss, a regulation win, an overtime loss, and a shootout win. The team also only managed five regulation goals in total, and if Mark Stone's goal had come 6.5 seconds later, it would've been one regulation goal per game. But there's no use complaining about taking 5/8 points, since that would amount to a 102-point season.
Biggest gains: Ryan Dzingel
It wasn't just the two points, including a beautiful solo end-to-end effort for a goal. No, it's the fact that he seems to be getting attention as the possible top-six fill-in. Against the Wild, he played a career-high 19:41. Not bad for a guy who was getting under 10 minutes just over a week ago.
Biggest losses: Bobby Ryan
It's not so much what he did this week, but rather what he didn't do - score points. Six points in 15 games has him on pace for 33 on the season, which just isn't good enough for a guy in the second year of a seven-year contract worth $7.25M. It's looking more and more like the Sens are going to lose somebody valuable in exchange for his albatross of a contract.
| Goaltenders | Trend | Notes |
| Craig Anderson |  | The Nashville game was his first save percentage under .938 since October 22nd. But he more than made up for it with two solid starts. |
| Mike Condon | | Another solid win - and apparently it means the team is soliciting offers for Hammond |
| Chris Driedger |  | Didn't play this week |
| Andrew Hammond |  | No updates on his injury status, just the rumour mill |
| Defensemen | ||
| Mark Borowiecki | | Borowiecki wasn't a liability and I'M ONLY GIVING HIM NEUTRAL. That means, somehow, I expect more from him |
| Cody Ceci | | Ceci actually carried the balance of play this week, so I'll give him a plus |
| Fredrik Claesson |  | Didn't look as solid this week as last |
| Erik Karlsson | | Three more points. Ho hum. |
| Marc Methot | | Not a great week for Methot. Considered giving him a down arrow |
| Dion Phaneuf | | Just like Ceci, managed to carry the balance of play this week |
| Chris Wideman | | He's back for good - we think. The whole thing has been very quiet |
| Forwards | ||
| Derick Brassard | | I can sometimes go an entire game forgetting he's on the team |
| Mike Blunden | | Yes, he played a game this week |
| Ryan Dzingel | | See Biggest Gains |
| Mike Hoffman | | No points and some defensive gaffes on the powerplay have him down this week. At least he doesn't make anywhere near Ryan's salary |
| Chris Kelly | | I can sometimes go an entire game forgetting he's on the team |
| Clarke MacArthur | | Hi Clarke |
| Chris Neil | | I'm perfectly happy to see him play 8 minutes, score a point every 10 games, and sit out the occasional maintenance game |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | | Possession numbers are back, and he got his first assists since Game 2 on Friday |
| Matt Puempel | | If he's not fighting... yeah, I don't know what he's doing. |
| Tom Pyatt | | Not a bad week for this bona fide NHLer |
| Bobby Ryan | | See Biggest Losses |
| Zack Smith | | The goal against the Kings was a thing of beauty |
| Mark Stone | | Scored a timely goal - here's hoping it gets him out of whatever funk he was in |
| Kyle Turris | | Two more goals has him leading the team with seven on the year |
Special thanks to our friend winterion at Japers' Rink for our icons!