Ups and Downs: Week 4

Things returned to normal for the Senators this week with three games on the schedule. A win in Columbus on Tuesday night, a shootout loss to Chicago on Thursday, and a loss in Boston on Saturday left Ottawa with three of a possible six points this week.

Onto the performances:

Biggest Gains: Clarke MacArthur. MacArthur continued his hot start by taking his play up a notch this week. He scored two goals and had three points on Tuesday night against Columbus and added another goal against Chicago. The top line struggled against Boston, but MacArthur had a strong week.

Biggest Losses: Mika Zibanejad. Many candidates for this spot, but at what point do we say that Mika is outmatched in a second-line centre role? In the last three games, he had 3 shots, 1 assist, 0 goals, and was below 50% on the draw, including a dismal 30% vs. Calgary. His line with Bobby Ryan and Milan Michalek lacks chemistry, but the only swap he's likely to see is Ryan for Alex Chiasson. Based on past experience, that's unlikely to boost his production.

Goaltenders	Trend	Notes
Craig Anderson		Had fairly strong efforts against Vancouver and Edmonton, but gifted Calgary their last two goals of the game. It evens out for the Sens' MVP thus far.
Robin Lehner		Didn't see any action this week. Has lot whatever trust MacLean gave him at the start of the season.
Defensemen
Mark Borowiecki		Not a great week for Boro. Often overmatched and out of position. Outside of his fighting, I'm not sure what he brings to the team.
Cody Ceci		Had a decent week.
Jared Cowen		Keeps looking better and better
Eric Gryba		Nothing great from Gryba, nothing terrible. Standard Gryba week.
Erik Karlsson		See biggest losses.
Marc Methot		Injured. Starting to think Marc Methot isn't real.
Chris Phillips		Not a great week for either top-pairing defenseman.
Patrick Wiercioch		Wiercioch was a healthy scratch against Columbus but Boro's injury meant he was back in the lineup against Chicago and recorded an assist.
Forwards
Alex Chiasson		Another good week for Chiasson. A goal against Columbus, and assist against Chicago, and he set up Mika Zibanejad against the Bruins. Continues to be a pleasant addition to the lineup.
Erik Condra		Played against Columbus but then was a healthy scratch the rest of the week. His time as a Senator may be coming to an end.
Colin Greening		Healthy scratch all week.
Mike Hoffman		Scratched against Columbus, Hoffman was back in the lineup on Thursday. Paired with fellow relative newbies Lazar and Stone Hoffman had two nice games against Chicago and Boston despite not having any points to show for his efforts.
Curtis Lazar		Lazar was in the lineup for all three games this week and look particularly good when paired with Hoffman and Stone. Picked up an assist against Chicago.
David Legwand		Had a point against Chicago, but his line continues to struggle.
Clarke MacArthur		See: Biggest gains.
Milan Michalek		Not as good as his previous week, but not terrible either.
Chris Neil		Not a great week. He did some of the things he's supposed to (fight against Columbus) but his line continues to get beat in their own end.
Bobby Ryan		Ryan had a goal and an assist in the first two games this week and the top line looked great. However, the top line disappeared against Boston, so the week is a bit of a wash for Ryan.
Z. Smith		Smith had a tough week. His line continues to have problems defensively. Wing is not the best position for him.
Mark Stone		Candidate for biggest gains. Stone had a great week. He worked himself back into the lineup. Despite being moved off the top line he managed a point in each game this week including two highlight reel goals.
Kyle Turris		Two assists against Columbus and his line looked good against Chicago but struggled against Boston.
Mika Zibanejad		Finally got his first goal of the season against Chicago, a late game-tying goal and added another against Boston. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

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