January 14th, 2011
 

Ottawa Senators Mid-Season Report

The Senators started off the season in park and has not been able to put it into gear. As of today, Ottawa sits fourth from last in the league with an anemic offence that has only produced 99 goals so far. They're not helping themselves on defense either, which is evidenced by an average of 3.04 goals against per game. The goaltending situation doesn'tseem much better, which has seen its flashes of brilliance but is luke warm on most nights. From the outside looking in, the average fan could tell you it's time for a house cleaning in Ottawa.

Offense: D+

If you can't score goals you won't win hockey games and this team could not find the back of the net if it hit them in the face. Second only to New Jersey for least goals scored, the Senators have been left by the wayside in the Northeast Division. Jason Spezza being out of the line-up has certainly contributed to their offensive woes, but the apparent lack of any kind of supplemental scoring from the rest of the team, especially acquisitions Alex Kovalev, Milan Michalek and offensive defenseman Sergei Gonchar has been the main reason they find themselves where they are.

Players to watch: Nick Foligno, Peter Regin, Ryan Shannon

Defense:  B-

As is the story with the rest of this Senator's team, their defense has been pretty average. One should note that only two players have a plus minus above zero, AHL call-ups David Hale and Brian Lee.  Sergei Gonchar has shown some signs of improvement but is still prone to mental collapses. One pleasant surprise is the play of young Erik Karlsson, who is second on the team in points and shows a lot of promise.

Players to watch: Erik Karlsson, Chris Campoli

Goaltending: C

Simply put, the goaltending needs to be better; more importantly it needs to be healthy. Perennial injury, Pascal Leclaire, has been good when he has played but again has been sitting out most of the season. Brian Elliott has seen the bulk of the workload this year and to his credit has been decently solid, but there are signs he may benefit from another season behind a more experienced back-stopper.

Player to watch: Brian Elliott

Overall Team Grade: C-

While Ottawa has a number of issues to contend with to become a playoff participator this year, they have proven in the past they can put on a late season push. If they're able to get back injured forwards Jason Spezza and Alex Kovalev, as well as goalie Pascal Leclaire, there's reason to believe they might be able to climb their way out of the basement. This is based on the assumption that they will be able to provide consistent play, which, looking at recent history, has been an problem. 

Jeff McTiernan

East Coast Correspondent

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