Senators Ups and Downs: Week 3
Ups and downs is a feature that looks at the individual performances of the Ottawa Senators during the past week.
Things are looking up. Mostly. After finally managing a winning record for a week, the Ottawa Senators are now up to a very pedestrian record of 3-3-2. It might put them 6th in the Atlantic Division, but hey, that's only two points out of a wild card berth (thanks, Metropolitan Division)!
But not everything is rosy.
Biggest Gains: Jason Spezza
Six points in two games for the new captain before being held off the scoresheet against Edmonton. Not bad.
Biggest Losses: Stephane Da Costa
Not much lower than being put on waivers. Da Costa's career in the NHL - at least with the Ottawa Senators - might be over with this move. He was underwhelming in both the bottom-six and the top-six in the first part of the season. His performance, alongside his currently nonexistent trade value, led to the waiving and subsequent demotion to the American Hockey League. At least he put up two points in his Binghamton debut.
| Goaltenders | Trend | Notes |
| Craig Anderson |  | Mostly solid against Phoenix, excellent against New Jersey. Made saves while facing the back of the net like it was no big deal. |
| Robin Lehner |  | Two goals early against Edmonton is a good way to get a red down arrow. Lehner had his worst performance of the season, although he still has the 9th-best save percentage in the NHL. |
| Defensemen | ||
| Joe Corvo |  | Can't really go up or down when you're scratched all week. |
| Jared Cowen | | Poor defensive play and very undisciplined. On the plus side, he's already mastered the "why did I get called for a penalty?" face. |
| Eric Gryba | | Had a good week by Gryba standards. Around here that means we can't use him as a scapegoat for everything that goes wrong. |
| Erik Karlsson | | With 4 points this week, Erik Karlsson is finally starting to look more like our Erik Karlsson and not the imposter that Carolina drafted. |
| Marc Methot | | The man who wears the tight pants had a bounce-back week. Still not quite up to Methot standards, though. |
| Chris Phillips | | Stay out of the penalty box, Chris. And what are you doing on the power play? It's not working. |
| Patrick Wiercioch | | Had two assists, none of which came in the game that the team scored five goals in. |
| Forwards | ||
| Cory Conacher | | Has taken the opportunity to play on Spezza's line and run with it. |
| Erik Condra | | When Condra's contributing on the PK, his lack of offensive ability is easier to stomach. |
| Stephane Da Costa | | He doesn't even go here! |
| Derek Grant | | The Derek Grant Power Hour returns. In only his sixth-career NHL game, managed to contribute more than Matt Kassian. |
| Colin Greening | | Two assists against Phoenix, then disappeared again. |
| Matt Kassian | | 18 shifts in three games. In other words, exactly the same as last week. |
| Clarke MacArthur | | Pro: Two assists this week. Con: Loves taking penalties. |
| Milan Michalek | | Was having a great week before Edmonton with three points in two games. |
| Chris Neil | | Scored the only goal against Edmonton and didn't take a penalty all week. Does not compute. |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | | Young fan-favourite Pageau was a healthy scratch for the first time this season against Edmonton. |
| Bobby Ryan | | Pointless in two of the three games, but oh what an awesome goal against New Jersey. |
| Z. Smith | | An atrocious 21.4% on the faceoff dot against Phoenix was followed by above-50% the next two games and a goal against the Devils. Works out to an up arrow. |
| Jason Spezza | | Hat trick followed by a three-point night. |
| Kyle Turris | | Spezza put up a ton of points, but Turris has been outstanding enough to still be currently the best centre on the team. |
| Mika Zibanejad | | Sees Stephane Da Costa sent down and gets passed over for Derek Grant. Harsh. |
Special thanks to our friend winterion at Japer's Rink for our icons!