What you've missed:

The Sens managed to pick up only 1 of the 3 wins on offer this week. The road trip started well in Florida with a win 4-3. But the form was not continued - Tampa exacted revenge on the Sens with a win 5-2 Thursday. And on Saturday, the Sens did everything but score - firing 50 shots on Atlanta goalie Ondrej Pavelec for one goal. Ottawa lost that game 3-1.

Too many times this week, the 4th line of Ruutu-Kelly-Donovan is the only line with jump coming off the bench. Jarkko Ruutu has been particularly impressive with 2 goals last week (1 of them the game-winner vs Florida). Peter Regin continues to put in a big effort and plays much bigger than his body.

In other games around the league:

- The Islanders managed 7 of a possible 8 points against quality opposition last week, including a 5-0 win over Buffalo. They are now equal with Boston and Philly in the standings.

- San Jose won all 4 of their games last week and are really starting to find a rhythm out there. They now lead the Pacific Division. Phoenix are just 1 point back, having won 3 in a row.

- Carolina have now lost 9 in a row and are only 1 point above Toronto, who really played well on their road trip but were beaten in OT in 3 of their games last week.

- Atlanta have lost 4 of their last 5 games and needed a huge effort from their goalie to squeeze out a win at Scotiabank Place.

What's coming up:

The Sens have another lengthy layoff this week, waiting until Thursday to play Tampa Bay at Scotiabank Place (7:30pm, TSN2). Then on Saturday, the Sens host New Jersey (7pm, CBC).

Ottawa have had big injuries over the past week to report on. Anton Volchenkov hurt his elbow in Wednesday's game vs Florida and will miss at least 2 weeks. Jason Spezza's "bumps and bruises" have conspired to keep him out of the past 2 games and there is no word yet on if he will be OK to dress for Thursday's game either. Jesse Winchester continues on his reconditioning assignment playing in the AHL and should be available next week.

Again, Ottawa face a lengthy period of inactivity this week and Thursday's game against Tampa will be crucial. The time off gives injured players time to rest but the Sens simply cannot come out cold like they have after a spell to date.

An area of weakness for Ottawa is the faceoff circle. The Sens rank 26th in faceoff percentage, and this was also what led to 2 of Atlanta's 3 goals on Saturday. Reinforcements are on the way when Jesse Winchester returns but with both him and Spezza out of the line up, they simply must get their shoulders in and at least tie up the opposing centres. Can Brian Lee and Chris Phillips do the job as a top pairing while the A-Train recuperates? And will Jonathan Cheechoo ever prove his worth as a scoring winger?

In other games this week:

- Pittsburgh head out west for a 3 game road trip that includes stops in Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose. The Pens have looked strong so far but this is their first significant test on the road.

- The Islanders hot streak will be tested heavily this week, and a rematch against Buffalo looms on Wednesday. They first host Edmonton Monday night and will then face New Jersey and Atlanta back to back on Friday and Saturday.

- Minnesota picked up big wins on the road last week against the Rangers and Pittsburgh, but need to keep the streak alive with home games against Vancouver and Dallas to climb out of the West basement.

Who's hot?

- Patrick Marleau (San Jose) has extended his streak to 10 points in 5 games and is now only 2 points behind the league lead.

- The lead, of course, is held by Alex Ovechkin (Washington) who has 6 points in his last 3 games.

- Tomas Kaberle (Toronto) has now scored an astounding 13 points in the last 5 games.

- Martin St Louis (Tampa Bay) has a point streak that lasts the entire season so far - he has at least 1 point in every game played. Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa) has been scoreless in only 1 game this season.

- Ilya Bryzgalov (Phoenix) leads the league with 3 shutouts and a 1.78 GAA. In his last 2 starts he has a 0.970 save percentage.

Who's not?

- The goaltending tandem of Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard (Detroit) have a combined 0.884 save percentage and 3.26 GAA.

- Marek Svatos (Colorado), widely considered to be capable of 40+ points, has been scoreless since October 15 and is a team-worst -7 on an otherwise strong team.

- Former Ottawa 1st rounder Andrej Meszaros (Tampa Bay) has just 1 point in the last 7 games and is a -5 in that stretch.

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I looooove that you mentioned Kaberle on your "Who's Hot"!! He was on fire during last nights game against the habs. Can't wait to see what's in store for him with this new role as a defenseman that scores goals!

Hope to see more Leafs on your "Who's Hot" in the weeks to follow!!

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Great article Matt

I hate that we still have to wait till Thursday for the next game... meh

Great writing once again Matt! It's nice to see veterans like Marleau, Kaberle, and St. Louis in the hot list. How long do you think St. Louis can keep at it?

Thanks Josh

Not sure. He has the consistency to put up 80 points - we know that from last season. I do worry about the team's consistency...Tampa's big guns aren't firing with him. No Lecavalier or Tanguay carrying the slack. There's not a whole lot coming from the back end either.

It will be interesting to see how long he can carry the load. It's a similar deal with Alfie. He is his usual self around the ice putting his best effort into it, but with the rest of the team not quite there with him it must be a strain.

It's time to try Kovalev on a different line I think.

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goes without saying that this is another good read.

Thanks 13, I really appreciate it.

How about Kaberle???!!! Someone shoved a firecracker up his arse didn't they!

Who's been singing kaberles praises since day 1?

Who owns him on ESPN?