First of all, apologies for missing last week completely, I was unwell that weekend. But anyway - let's get started!

What you've missed

There's one word to describe the Senators in recent times...HOT! After slumping to 5 straight defeats, they have roared back into the playoff race with 6 straight wins. They accounted for Boston twice; a 5-1 win on Monday and a 2-1 win on Saturday. The Sens also took down West juggernauts Chicago 4-1 on Tuesday, and a slumping powerplay caught fire Thursday to down St Louis 3-2, where all Ottawa goals were scored with the man advantage.

So many areas of improvement that it's hard to narrow down just 1, but Brian Elliott was judged the NHLs first star of the week, allowing just 5 goals on 115 shots (that's a 0.956 save percentage this week). The entire team is playing better defensively which surely helps. Erik Karlsson continues to impress and is using his speed and positioning well on the ice. Ryan Shannon has all of a sudden become a shot and pass block extraordinaire, breaking up possession multiple times this week (especially in Saturday's game) and allowing for the transition.

In other games around the league:

- Buffalo headed out West confident but have had a rough time of it, winning just 1 of 4 games last week, and they are now on a 3 game losing streak. They have one more game on this road trip (in Vancouver tonight) before returning home.

- At one stage, Edmonton were right amongst the playoff contenders in the West. Now, they are dead last in the NHL with an 11 game losing streak. They have just 1 win in their last 20 (!!!) games (vs Toronto in late December).

- On the other end of the scale, Washington continues to power ahead, sweeping their 3 games last week (including a big win over rivals Pittsburgh). They now sit firmly atop the East conference - 3 points clear of New Jersey.

What's coming up

The Senators may be hot, but they will be tested in the week ahead with a 3 game schedule. First off, the Sens host New Jersey Tuesday (7:30pm, Sportsnet). Then it's off to Pittsburgh Thursday (7pm, TSN). And in the Saturday afternoon game (as part of Hockey Day in Canada), they faceoff against Montreal (2pm, CBC).

Anton Volchenkov sat out of Saturday's game with an unknown injury, but coach Clouston is hopeful he will be back for the next game on Tuesday. There's been no update on 4th liner Jesse Winchester's condition, and the return date still looks like mid-February.

The games this week are vital to say the least. The Sens hold a 5 point edge in the East over 3 teams tied in 6th place (Philly, the Rangers, and Montreal). There are also 5 points separating the Sens from 4th placed Pittsburgh. A win on Thursday will draw the Sens closer to home-ice advantage, a win on Saturday will distance them from the chase pack of teams behind them. If the defensive efforts and solid goaltending continue, there's no reason the Sens can't sweep this week too.

In other games this week

- Los Angeles had 2 key wins last week to keep them afloat in the top 8 in the ultra competitive West, but now they must embark on an East conference road trip. 4 games this week on the road vs Toronto, Columbus, Boston and New Jersey are critical if the Kings hope to stay in the race.

- Calgary have seen their fortunes turn, now on a 6 game losing streak and with just 2 wins in their last 9 games, they are in danger of falling out of playoff considerations. However, a softer schedule is in store, with games against St Louis tonight and cellar-dwelling Edmonton on Saturday.

- Florida continue to steal games and surprise opponents, and now they lurk just 2 points out of the top 8, despite missing key players. A very tough schedule awaits them this week, with games against Montreal, Washington and the Islanders.

Who's hot?

- A big reason for Florida's success lately is the play of Tomas Vokoun, who managed 2 shutouts this week, an astounding 0.985 save percentage and a 0.5 GAA. How he was not the NHLs 1st star this week, I don't know.

- Eric Staal (Carolina) has 5 goals in the past 3 games, including a hat trick.

- Tim Connolly (Buffalo) has a 15 game (!!!) scoring streak worth 24 points (7G, 17A).

Who's not?

- Tim Thomas (Boston) has been pulled twice in the last week, and has a 0.839 save percentage in that stretch.

- Jay Bouwmeester (Calgary) has scored just 1 assist in the past 11 games, and his last goal was over 30 games ago.

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Good job as always.
Didn't like the Edmonton/Toronto reminder.

Awesome as always Matt! Thanks for the read.

Great job MTA! Volchenkov is back tomorrow.

Sorry

Thanks guys for the encouragement!

Always a good job! And I am loving the fact that the sens are so "Hot" right now! I hope they keep it up, but it will be a tough week, like you said!

Glad Volchenkov is back!

Great as usual. Amazing how you cover so much in such a short article.

Great job!!! I haven't actually read any of your previous articles, your great! You should seriously consider starting a career in journalism.

I have been considering submitting one of these articles to a paper. I don't know what response I'd get, but you never know unless you try I guess.

...would you guys think that my writing is good enough to be published?

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I think so for many reasons...you are articulate, your vocabulary is large...you seem to know how to cover alot of grounds, in short sentences, well put together. You leave your biased opinion behind.

I could get use to reading a column like yours every day...but will settle for once a week

Yep. I don't see why the response would be bad. You summarize so much in a little amount. It takes like 5 minutes to read and I always learn something new.

Great job again Matt, thanks for these articles. I learned how much work it is just doing the one, so I really appreciate you doing them.

I think you have the writing skill, but I think you might want to consider re-writing certain parts or changing the presentation a bit to gear them towards a different audience and a different form of print.

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Nothing ventured, nothing gained.....nuff said

I think I understand where you're coming from.

Great job yet again Matt.

Good Job MTA

Homer

I think we aced that test!

That is awesome!!

Does that mean Elliott still gets a star this week?

This week he was 3-0 with a 1.00 GAA, and a .964 SVS%
Last week he was 4-0 with 1.25 GAA and a .957 SVS%.
So, it's very possible that he gets a star this week too. IMO he should.

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