Ups and Downs: Week 7
Ups and Downs is a weekly feature that looks at the Sens' individual performances in the last week.
It was a decent week for the Senators. Playing just two games, Ottawa hung on to beat one of the best teams in the league in Nashville on Thursday night and couldn't quite match another good team, St. Louis, for three periods on Saturday night, losing by one goal.
Biggest Gains: Robin Lehner. After not featuring last week, Lehner was the star of the game against Nashville and kept the Senators in it against St. Louis. With two sets up back-to-back games this week, look for both Lehner and Anderson to feature.
Biggest Losses: Chris Phillips. There are a few candidates here, but Phillips looked in over his head against Nashville. He had trouble clearing the puck out of his own zone and difficulty dealing with Nashville's attack. He's already logged a lot of minutes this season and it might be catching up with him. He missed the St. Louis game because of an injury and is questionable for tonight's game.
| Goaltenders | Trend | Notes |
| Craig Anderson |  | Didn't play this week. |
| Robin Lehner |  | See biggest gains. |
| Defensemen | ||
| Mark Borowiecki | | After a rough time last week, Boro looked better the last two games. He stayed out of the penalty box against Nashville and recorded 8 hits and 2 blocked shots. He's game against St. Louis wasn't as strong, with 2 hits and a block and a minor penalty but he played 18:58, his highest total of the season. Boro's physical game against Nashville sets him apart from all other Sens defensemen. |
| Cody Ceci | | Ceci had a great game against Nashville and notched an assist but he got torched along with his partner (Cowen) against St. Louis, especially in the first period. |
| Jared Cowen | | Had one of his best games against the Predators and scored the game-winning goal! He looked terrible against the Blues so things cancel each other out. |
| Eric Gryba | | Quiet week for Gryba, but played just 12:31 against the Blues. |
| Erik Karlsson | | A goal and an assist for the captain this week to go along with 5 shots. He was flying against St. Louis. He still really needs a real partner. |
| Marc Methot |  | Still injured. Interacting with the team in practice. This is an improvement. |
| Chris Phillips |  | See biggest losses. |
| Patrick Wiercioch | | Scratched Thursday but with Phillips' injury was back in the lineup against St. Louis. Took a stupid penalty and his performance was unlikely to change Paul MacLean's mind. |
| Forwards | ||
| Alex Chiasson | | Shouldn't be on the top line, but another assist and 7 shots on the week. |
| Erik Condra | | Scratched all week. We may never see him again. |
| Colin Greening | | An injury to Curtis Lazar opened up a space for Greening in the lineup. He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't good either. He managed 3 shots against the Blues but his ice time decreased 4:30 minutes from the previous game to 8:05. |
| Mike Hoffman | | Solid week for Hoffman, No points but 3 shots and good possession numbers. |
| Curtis Lazar | | Missed both games with injury. |
| David Legwand | | Had a poor game against Nashville but was better against St. Louis. Draws continue to be a problem (38% against NSH, 46% against STL). |
| Clarke MacArthur | | An assist against Nashville and good possession numbers against St. Louis. |
| Milan Michalek | | An assist and five shots in two games. More noticeable from Milo but possession numbers continue to be poor. |
| Chris Neil | | Better week for Neil. No dumb penalties, some hits. This is what's expected. |
| Bobby Ryan | | Bobby had a goal against Nashville and an excellent assist against the Blues. His deployment isn't ideal, but Bobby's doing a lot more off the puck than he gets credit for. |
| Z. Smith | | Smith returned to his natural position this week with Lazar out and while he was god on the draw there's not much else to say about his game right now. |
| Mark Stone | | Didn't have a great game against Nashville but rebounded nicely against St. Louis with an assist and a good possession game. |
| Kyle Turris | | After a good week last week, Turris was quiet against Nashville but was good against St. Louis and added an assist. Still, more needed from the number one centre. |
| Mika Zibanejad | | Candidate for biggest gains. Turn around week for Zibanejad. A point in each game (1G, 1A) and good possession numbers both nights. |
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