No team faced more adversity last season than the Ottawa Senators. With the collection of injuries to stars such as Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson an Craig Anderson it would have been understandable if the Senators missed out on the postseason. Some wizardry and just plain great coaching from coach Paul MacLean saw Ottawa not only reach the playoffs, but also upset the second seeded Montreal Canadiens.
By the time the final seconds of the 2013 season had ticked away, Ottawa had their trio of talented stars return. Though they were all well short of 100%, their presence in the lineup certainly provided a lift to the morale of the youngsters that had carried the load through the abbreviated season. With a full slate of games set for the 2013-14 season, a summer to get healthy, a realigned division and Bobby Ryan looking for a new lease on life, there was no shortage of optimism in Canada’s capital city.
Through the first three months of the season though, Ottawa was one of the most disappointing clubs in the NHL. By the end of December 2013 the Senators were 17-18-7 and well out of range of the playoff wildcard race. There were no major injury concerns. A few nicks and bruises here and there, but nothing that everyone else wasn’t dealing with around the league. Karlsson was back to his usual self, Ryan seemed reborn on his new club, leading the forwards.
Spezza and Anderson however, looked badly out of sync. During the struggles of October and November, Anderson posted a 6-8-2 record with a save percentage below .900 and a goals against average between three and four goals per game. Since then, Anderson has regained his form going 12-3-5 while bringing the rest of his stat line up to par.
Spezza has suffered through a season long slump after starting the season hot. After posting seven goals and five assists during 11 October contests, Spezza has only managed seven goals in his next 39 games. It’s hard to say if the back surgery from a year ago is still lingering for Ottawa’s new captain, but his plus/minus is also extraordinarily bad. With a career plus/minus of plus 57, Spezza is a wretched minus-22 on the year.
Ottawa has been much better since the start of the New Year. Since January 1st the Sens have gone 7-3-3 and jumped back into the thick of the playoff fray. With 27 games left to play the Senators currently sit two points out of the final wild card spot. With no prohibitive favorite that has caught fire, Ottawa can certainly consider itself a viable entity in the playoff rat race.
The projection for the Senators is that they will reach the postseason. They have plenty of head-to-head match ups against the teams that sit in front of them in the standings and have more than enough talent to overcome them. Craig Anderson seems to have righted whatever was ailing him during the first two months of the year.
The Senators have depth in their scoring with some frisky youngsters on the top three lines. At 30, Spezza is the oldest center by far. Kyle Turris has taken over the center spot on the first line between Ryan (26) and Clarke MacArthur(28). The captain takes the second line with Cory Conacher(24) and Colin Greening(27). The only regular defenseman over the age of 30 is Joe Corvo at 36. Karlsson is still only 23 and is one of the elite defensemen in the world.
With the Olympic break less than a week away, the Senators will need to make every game count. Don’t think for a second that the Sens wouldn’t send one of those young forwards away for a proven commodity/mercenary like Matt Moulson or even go after a youngster on a club that is looking to sell some players at the trade deadline. With high expectations in Ottawa, you can bet that general manager Bryan Murray will be active in discussions. After all, his job may depend on it.