Ottawa Finally Getting it Together

It is hardly time to crown them Eastern Conference Champions but the Ottawa Senators are finally starting to put things together a bit. After a very rough start to the season including a four game losing streak in November they have all-of-a-sudden won four of the last six and have at least a point in seven of the last eight games. While seems like a very long time ago not much time has passed since the core group of this Senators team breezed through the east playoffs and were playing for the Stanley Cup. There have been a number of issues since then (can you say Ray Emry?) including a collapse after a great start last year capped by an early playoff exit at the hands of Pittsburgh. Despite all that goaltender Alex Auld has played very well giving up 2.06 goals per game accompanied by a solid .924 save percentage, he simply has not enjoyed the goal support needed to be successful. The top line of Heatley, Alfredsson, and Spezza have been playing pretty well posting 75 points between the three of them but they cannot do it alone. If the rest of the team can step up their game just a little bit, the Ottawa Senators could be a scary team come January and beyond. Right now Ottawa sits last in their division and twelfth in the conference with 25 points. However, they are only four points out of a playoff spot and have two games in hand on Buffalo who currently holds that final spot. Should Ottawa put things together with all their talent they can give teams a lot of trouble going down the stretch and into the playoffs; don’t sleep on the Senators.