Senators ups and downs: Week 17

(Ups and downs is a feature that looks at the individual performances of the Ottawa Senators for the past week.)

What goes up must come down. The Senators, who had been winning dangerously for so much of the month of January, have watched much of the luck that buoyed them to those wins evaporate. Not coincidentally, their playoff cushion has evaporated along with that luck: out of a possible six points this week, the team earned one.

The week started out promisingly, with the Senators giving the Bruins all they could handle, jumping out to a 3-1 lead before eventually losing 4-3. There was plenty of positive momentum to carry into a game against the surging New York Islanders, but the team came out flat and wound up sucking on a 2-1 OT loss despite scoring the first goal for the first time in eight games. Unfortunately, that was the momentum they carried into the next night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The result was a 5-0 hammering that should have left a bad taste at every level of the organization, from the owner on down to the fans. Things don't get any easier this week: first on tap are the red-hot St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators.

Biggest gains: Jim O'Brien
We really struggled with picking out a biggest gainer this week, which says a great deal about the players' performance as a whole. But hey, as a callup he made it onto the top line--and not out of mercy, but due to the fact that he was one of the best players on the ice. So, there's that.

Biggest losses: Jared Cowen
Cowen had what can only be described as a rookie week against all three opponents. Against the Islanders, he was responsible for both goals, as he inexplicably left his position to help his partner, Gonchar, and the goal-scorer filled the spot Cowen left vacant. He exhibited similar poor decision-making against Toronto, getting caught flat-footed more than once. This obviously means he is a mega-bust, and will never develop into a top pairing player.

(read on for the full rundown....)