Sens Week Ahead : Nov 1 to 7
Another week, another three games
 | Senators @ Bruins | |
Previous game@Sabres, Thursday, October 30th | Next gamePanthers, Tuesday, November 4th | |
HotDavid Kreji - 9P (3G, 6A) in last 8 GP | ColdSimon Gagne - 0P in last 6 GP | |
What is up with the Boston Bruins?
12 games in and they're a .500 team for some reason. Their 5 on 5 shooting percentage is a little lacking, but not drastically so. The 5 on 5 SV% isn't terrible at 91.4%, though overall Tukka Rask has looked downright human with a sub-.900 so far this season.
The power play is clicking well, and the penalty kill is middle of the pack. They're sitting at 4th for 5 on 5 close Corsi as well, so they really should be doing better than the have so far.
While not injured to the extent of some other teams, Boston's blue line is hurting with Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug both on IR.
It's only a matter of time before Boston goes on a run up the standings, but between their slump and their injuries Ottawa might just be able to take advantage of the situation tonight.
What scoring they have had has been spread out, with no player having more than three goals yet. Almost very other team in the league has at least a four goal scorer so far (except Florida), and most have played fewer games than the Bruins. David Kreji is off to a strong start after missing the first handful of games, though. He's at a point per game pace, with points in seven of nine games played.
 | Red Wings @ Senators | |
Previous game@Sabres, Sunday, November 2nd | Next game@Rangers, Wednesday, November 5th | |
HotHenrik Zetterberg - 14P (3G, 11A) | ColdTomas Tatar- 2P (2G) in 10 GP | |
The Red Wings enter the week two points up on Ottawa.
First, still no Daniel Alfredsson.
Special teams are a mixed bag for Detroit so far this season. The power play is dismal at 12.8%, but the penalty kill leads the league at 94.1%.
Henrik Zetterberg is off to a fantastic start with 3 goals and 11 assists in 10 games. Pavel Datsyuk missed a few games, but has 8 points in the 5 games he has played. Jimmy Howard and Jonas Gustavsson are both putting up great numbers, with a .929 and .935 sv% respectively. Overall they're a positive possession team as well, though only barely at 5 on 5 close Fenwick.
Johan Franzen is currently injured.
 | Wild @ Senators | |
Previous gamePenguins, Tuesday, November 4th | Next game@Canadiens, Saturday, November 8th | |
HotThomas Vanek - 6P (6A) in last 5 GP | ColdNiklas Backstrom - 0.886 SV% in 2 GP | |
The Minnesota Wild are of to a solid start in the West, buoyed in part by an opening back to back against Colorado. Don't think that is the only reason though, they're leading the league in 5 on 5 close possession by a fair margin.
They do have a rather high PDO, 1.038, so they are going to have at least some decline in the future. Let's hope that it starts before Thursday.
Darcy Kuemper has been solid between the pipes with a .927 so far. Niklas Backstrom not so much in his two starts, posting a dismal .886. The Wild don't have any point per game players right now, but Zach Parise (8 points), Jason Zucker (7 points) And Thomas Vanek (7 points) are all doing well.
Amazingly, Minnesota has yet to score a single power play goal. That's right, a 0% power play. Their penalty kill is fourth in the league however.
Their current injuries are Keith Ballard and Jared Spurgeon.
