Ok, so again, a very busy weekend for me, so sorry it's late. But the Sens haven't played this week yet so here goes 
What you've missed
The Ottawa Senators kept on rolling, extending their win streak to a franchise record 9 straight. 2 wins last week came against the class of the East - a shutout over
New Jersey 3-0 Tuesday and a strong performance over
Pittsburgh 4-1 Thursday. In a tense rivalry matchup, the Sens managed to get a win in OT over
Montreal to set the record Saturday 3-2.
Right now, it's hard to single out just one area that the Sens are performing well. It's an entire team effort right now. The goaltending is solid (Brian Elliott is the second star of the NHL for last week). The PK has been exceptional. Defensively, this team has pulled together. And watching the Sens, it all seems to start with a simple, effective and aggressive forecheck. When Ottawa has the puck, the cycle around the boards and behind the net is frustrating opponents and causing defensive mistakes and goals.
Filip Kuba finally seems to have found his passing touch and he has set up a few great goals.
In other games around the league:
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Detroit had a solid week but failed to capitalise twice in OT, splitting points with
Phoenix in OT and
Pittsburgh in the shootout. This leaves them precariously balanced at the edge of the playoff race in the West.
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Philadelphia continue to claw their way back into the playoff picture with a solid effort, and find themselves ahead of the very large chase pack of teams in the East. 7 teams fighting for 2 playoff spots are separated by just 3 points.
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Washington also broke a franchise mark last week, going 10 wins in a row dating back to mid-January.
Vancouver have a 7 game win streak on the go.
What's coming up
Ottawa have a 3 game schedule ahead, and the games do not get any easier. On Wednesday, the Sens head into
Buffalo (7pm, Sportsnet). The next night, they return to Scotiabank Place to host
Vancouver (7:30pm, Sportsnet). And on Saturday, it's back down the 401 to visit
Toronto (7pm, CBC).
Pascal Leclaire has returned from his concussion and is expected to start one of the back to back games this week.
Anton Volchenkov injured his leg on a hit Saturday but is not expected to miss major time and may even suit up for Wednesday's game. However, the big injury concern is for
Nick Foligno, who broke a bone in his leg and will be out until after the Olympics.
Ottawa have opened up a large lead in the standings, to the point where they have almost guaranteed a playoff spot come April. But complacency now can still burn them, and the
Buffalo game tomorrow is a golden opportunity for the Sens to gain ground on home-ice advantage. The return of
Pascal Leclaire is a wild card that could prove to be a blessing or a curse. He will certainly have to put up much better numbers if he hopes to steal starts from the red hot
Brian Elliott.
In other games this week:
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Calgary's sharp drop in the standings has gone so far that they are sitting on the edge of the playoff picture in the West. And to make matters worse, after hosting resurgent
Carolina Wednesday, they will embark on a 3 game East road trip
(Tampa Bay, Florida and Ottawa). Will the recent wholesale trades be enough to shake up this squad?
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Toronto were the other team to pull the trigger early on trading, and they will be put to the test this week against the class of the East. The cause may be lost this year, but it will be interesting to see how the new Leafs gel with the rest of the team. They play
New Jersey twice and will host rivals
Ottawa on the weekend.
Who's hot?
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Eric Staal (Carolina) has scored 8 goals and 11 points in the past 7 games.
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Thomas Vanek (Buffalo) has 5 goals and 9 points in the last 8 games.
Who's not?
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Devan Dubnyk (Edmonton) is yet to win a game this season and has a GAA over 4.
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Ed Jovanovski (Phoenix) has just 1 goal and is a -10 in the last 7 games.
Weekly Preview #18
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