Senators Ups and Downs: Week 27
As the season winds down, the Senators seem to have found their will to fight. They went 2-1-1 in four games this week, and all were hard-fought games. Not much else to say.
Biggest Gains: Craig Anderson
There's not really much to say at this point. Signed a 4-year, $12.75M deal, and allowed one goal against the Rangers. He followed that performance up with a shutout of the Washington Capitals before finally looking human against the Atlanta Thrashers. As long as he continues to be the reason the Senators are winning games, he's going to remain the biggest gainer.
Biggest Losses: Pascal Leclaire
His career with the Senators is officially over. GM Bryan Murray said he would not be offering Leclaire another contract, and the netminder recently underwent hip surgery, which will keep him from playing in any more games.
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Pascal Leclaire |  | See "Biggest Losses." |
| Curtis McElhinney |  | Played more like backup in 3-4 loss to the Hurricanes. His teammates spotted him a two-goal lead, and he promptly gave it back. |
| Craig Anderson |  | See "Biggest Gains." |
| Defensemen | ||
| Erik Karlsson | | The kid cooled off a bit this week in terms of points, logging just one goal that counted. But he also scored the shootout winner against the Rangers and has averaged nearly thirty minutes a game. |
| Brian Lee | | Like Karlsson, Lee has also cooled off slightly this past week. The difference is that he doesn't have offensive numbers to compensate. |
| Chris Phillips | | Add Marion Gaborik, Niklas Backstrom, and Alexander Semin to the list of players shut down by Big Game Chris recently. |
| Filip Kuba | | Did you know: Kuba blocked ten shots last week. Pretty impressive for a guy so easily injured. |
| Patrick Weircioch | | Rookie ups and downs for the kid. Got absolutely smeared against Washington, but bounced back with his first NHL point against Atlanta. |
| David Hale | | Hale is Mr. Steady. |
| Sergei Gonchar | | It doesn't look like he'll return from his concussion before the year ends. |
| Matt Carkner | | Will probably miss the rest of the year. |
| Forwards | ||
| Colin Greening | | Sure looks like a rookie to us. Two goals in four games this week, but capped it off with a pretty forgettable night in a 5-4 shootout loss to Atlanta. |
| Jason Spezza | | Overtook Erik Karlsson for the team's points lead this week. |
| Bobby Butler | | Though he didn't score any goals this week, Butler did have a three-game assist streak -- and they were quality assists. |
| Milan Michalek | | Returned from injury with a vengance. He's already using his speed to create chances. |
| Ryan Shannon | | Just one point in four games for Shannon this week, as he has finally started to slow down from his blazing pace. |
| Erik Condra | | Three points (2G, 1A) in four games for AnaCondra. He really impressed this week. |
| Nick Foligno | | His five-game assist streak was snapped against Washington. He has no points since then, though he was plus-2 against Atlanta in a 5-4 shootout loss. |
| Zack Smith | | 33 PIMs in four games, mostly from fighting. He's out there sticking up for his teammates. |
| Chris Neil | | Fell back to Earth after a strong week last week. Still playing Chris Neil hockey; just not scoring many points. |
| Marek Svatos | | Three goals in four games this week. Welcome to hockey, Marek. |
| Jesse Winchester | | Fairly unremarkable week for Winch. The fourth line was not called upon much in any of the games -- again. |
| Francis Lessard |  | Remains the team's most minor contributor. |
| Roman Wick | | Returned to Binghamton with Michalek's return to the lineup. |
| Daniel Alfredsson | | Out indefinitely with a back injury. |
| Peter Regin | | Out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. |