Ups and Downs: Week 15
Zibanejad had a great week, but Claesson is entering a serious fight for his ice time.
Ottawa had just two games this week, a last-minute collapse against the Ducks and a come-from-behind victory against the Kings.
He had a great week - dominated the opposition in shots, put up two points against the Kings (including the game-winner), and seemed to regain a lot of trust. Ryan also had a great week, but I don't think he had as much to gain, and Z-bad got three more minutes in the L.A. game.
Biggest losses: Fredrik Claesson
I don't want to pile on the guy because he's had very few games in the NHL, but he was a healthy scratch against the Ducks and then had a fairly poor game against the Kings. He's not making a case for playing time ahead of Wideman right now. With an over-crowded blue line, and with Ceci and Boro never getting scratched, Claesson will need to prove he deserves every minute he's going to get. That may or not be fair, but it's the truth.
| Goaltenders | Trend | Notes |
| Craig Anderson |  | He had an OK week. Outside of five minutes against Anaheim, it was great, but those five minutes cost Ottawa a game. |
| Andrew Hammond | | He's back with the team already after a personal issue, which is good news for both him and the team. |
| Defensemen | ||
| Mark Borowiecki |  | Should he get an up arrow? Positive possession numbers and a goal against the Kings means he greatly exceeded my expectations for the week. |
| Cody Ceci |  | I wasn't a fan of Ceci this week, but he did pick up an assist in L.A. on an extended powerplay. |
| Fredrik Claesson | | See Biggest Losses |
| Jared Cowen | | May never play another game in a Sens uniform. |
| Erik Karlsson | | Just an OK week by the captain's standards, which are admittedly very high. |
| Marc Methot | | The Methot-Boro pairing was probably Ottawa's best pairing against the Kings |
| Chris Phillips |  | Hi Chris! |
| Chris Wideman | | Looks to be the most likely scratch other than Claesson |
| Patrick Wiercioch | | Meh. Maybe he hasn't rekindled the magic with Ceci of last season after all. |
| Forwards | ||
| Alex Chiasson | | Not good against the Kings, but got his first even-strength goal of the season so that's OK |
| Mike Hoffman | | I expect more from Hoffman than no points and a lot of puck mishandles |
| Curtis Lazar | | This is a very generous up arrow, but he went point-per-game, and that goal against Anaheim was a thing of anticipation beauty. |
| Clarke MacArthur | | The fact that he's skating is good news for him. Still not sure if Bryan Murray's prediction that he could play this season is realistic at all |
| Max McCormick | | Didn't look great against Anaheim. Looks like his stint in Ottawa is wrapping up |
| Milan Michalek | | Gets a plus from me for actually looking pretty good in a top-six role. He's been what the team's needed him to be since returning from injury |
| Chris Neil | | I don't remember Neil at all from this week, which is just fine |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | | Just like Lazar, probably doesn't deserve this, but two points against the Kings gets him the benefit of the doubt |
| Shane Prince | | He hasn't been scratched recently, so hopefully that means coach sees what I see: he's the best winger Smith-Neil have had in a long time |
| Bobby Ryan | | Had a pretty decent week, especially once he was reunited with Zibanejad and got a goal and an assist |
| Zack Smith | | Like Neil, I really don't remember his week very much |
| Mark Stone | | Turris-Stone did not have a good week |
| Kyle Turris | | Turris-Stone did not have a good week |
| Mika Zibanejad | | See Biggest Gains |
Special thanks to our friend winterion at Japers' Rink for our icons!