Surprising Senators Heating Up at the Right Time
What a difference a month can make. At this time last month the Ottawa Senators had bottomed out, having lost five in a row, and yet now they’re one of the hottest teams in the NHL.
In fact, if it weren’t for the Washington Capitals the Senators would be the undisputed hottest team in hockey. The team has now won 12 of their last 13 games, and their win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday coupled with the Buffalo Sabres’ shootout loss has vaulted them to the top of the Northeast Division. Where, at an earlier point in the season the Ottawa Senators looked as though they were facing desperate odds simply to make the playoffs, debate now centers around their ability to take the division.
So what has changed over the course of the past month? Well first and foremost the team has enjoyed a complete 180 degree turnaround in the goaltending department. Despite running counter to any logical predictions, the firing of goaltending coach Eli Wilson on January 13th seems to be been a remarkably abrupt turning point in the season. On January 12th the Senators lost 6-1 to the Atlanta Thrashers, with Brian Elliott and Pascal Leclaire combining to let in 6 goals on 28 shots. The next day Bryan Murray fired Wilson without hiring a replacement.
The Senators’ recent 11-game winning streak just happens to coincide with the period after Wilson was fired and during which the team has not had a goaltending coach, but that wasn’t the only thing that happen that week. The day after Wilson was fired, Pascal Leclaire was hit in the head by a Mike Fisher shot, sending him back to the injury list with a concussion. Then Brian Elliot fell ill with the flu leaving Mike Brodeur, AHL call-up and distant cousin of Martin, to start the next game against the New York Rangers.
However, a crazy thing happened against the Rangers that night. Instead of collapsing under the weight of their misfortune, Mike Brodeur and the Senators won 2-0, implausibly giving Brodeur a shutout in his second career NHL start. From that point, it has been a particularly jarring turnaround for the Sens, who received another stellar game from Brodeur before Elliott returned and went on his own hot streak.
Brian Elliott went on to be the NHL’s first star of the week for the second last week of January, and followed that up with being named the second star for the last week of that month. Frankly, I don’t know what to think about Brian Elliott, who looks like a completely different goalie these days. He has basically turned around absolutely everything that was wrong with him earlier in the season. He’s in the right position at all times, he’s no longer giving up the rebounds he had become notorious for, and most importantly he’s not giving up any soft goals. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Perhaps most surprising of all, he continue to do it without a goaltending coach of any kind.
While Senators fans can only hold their breath and hope this isn’t some sort of cruel joke, they can take comfort in the fact that Brian Elliott is not the only player to break out of a slump recently. While most of the team has been performing at a higher level since the streak, it has been the team’s star players who have made the difference. Alex Kovalev is finally playing with some inspiration, and has picked up 4 goals and 12 points in the 13 games since the Atlanta debacle. Meanwhile, captain Daniel Alfredsson is back to his usual fiery self, scoring 7 goals and 16 points in the 12 games since he returned from a shoulder injury.
Jason Spezza in particular has experienced a dramatic turnaround from what was looking to be the worst season in his career. After his first 28 games Spezza had only three goals, but since returning from injury he has 8 goals and 10 points in 8 games (and 10 goals in his last 10 games overall). Spezza has been known to but streaky, but this is just ridiculous.
As surprising as Spezza and Elliott’s play has been, I suppose it’s no more surprising than this Senators team contending for the Northeast Division at this point in the season. These are the type of surprises I can enjoy.
