Ottawa Senators Ups and Downs: Week 7
After four-straight wins, it's a lot of ups!
Well, that was a pretty great week. Four games, four regulation wins, and now the Senators are top-five in the entire league. Also, the Sens beat two of the teams ahead of them in the Canadiens and the Rangers. Things are looking pretty bright.
Biggest gains: Mark Stone
There were a few candidates for this spot, but five points (including three against Carey Price and the Habs!) puts him up here. It's nice to see his offence rounding into form, and hopefully is a sign of good things to come.
Biggest losses: Zack Smith
Shows how good of a week this was that Smith had a fine week and gets Biggest Losses. Basically, he's been passed by Dzingel on the depth chart. It looks like Smith-Pageau-Pyatt will be a combo for the foreseeable future, which is fine with me. It's just that Smith had a chance to get MacArthur's spot in the top six, and has now pretty much cemented his place on the third line.
| Goaltenders | Trend | Notes |
| Craig Anderson |  | Five goals allowed in four games - not bad for the NHL's first star of the week |
| Mike Condon |  | Didn't play |
| Defensemen | ||
| Mark Borowiecki | | I'm beginning to wonder how much of him looking awful to start his career was because he had an awful coach. He's not a first-pairing guy, but he's looked perfectly competent |
| Cody Ceci | | Cleared 20 minutes in 3/4 of games this week |
| Erik Karlsson | | He wasn't great possession-wise, but that's mostly because he was given the task of shutting down top lines. And hey, he managed three points. |
| Marc Methot | | Same as Karlsson - tasked with shutting down top lines and was OK doing it. |
| Dion Phaneuf | | Boucher is starting to trust him more and more, giving him 24+ minutes twice this week. He also got two points |
| Chris Wideman | | One fluky goal. It's nice that Ottawa's third pairing hasn't been a concern lately |
| Forwards | ||
| Derick Brassard | | Only two points, but he's looking great. (Most would when they're given Stone and Hoffman as wingers) |
| Ryan Dzingel | | Glad his ear is fine |
| Mike Hoffman | | Such soft hands. I want him and Stone together forever |
| Chris Kelly | | He's still here |
| Clarke MacArthur |  | Hi Clarke |
| Chris Neil | | He's also still here |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | | Capped off an average week with a nice goal against the Rags |
| Tom Pyatt |  | The criteria for a down arrow on a winning streak are pretty weak. Pyatt gets one for being sub-par in possession and being passed over for top-six roles |
| Bobby Ryan | | Turris and Ryan seem to have found chemistry, which is a great sign for this team |
| Zack Smith | | See Biggest Losses |
| Mark Stone | | See Biggest Gains |
| Kyle Turris | | Two more goals, both thanks to Sweet Plays with Bobby Ryan (TM) |
Special thanks to our friend winterion at Japers' Rink for our icons!