What you've missed
Ottawa set a franchise record by going 11 wins in a row and have now closed to within 1 point of the North East division lead. They conquered division leaders
Buffalo and the North West leader
Vancouver in consecutive nights mid-week (4-2 and 3-1, respectively) but dropped the ball in a stinker of a game against
Toronto 5-0 on Saturday.
It had to happen at some stage, but it really stings to drop the streak-ending game to the Leafs, and in such drastic fashion. That blemish aside, the Sens have played inspired hockey and beaten a number of high-ranking teams. I don't think even I would have predicted the Sens being in this strong a position heading into the Olympics. In a losing effort Saturday,
Jarkko Ruutu really jacked up his play offensively and killed key penalty time.
In other games around the league:
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Washington continued their win streak (now at 14) and last week managed to score at a rate of 5 goals per game. They continued this form earlier today, and came back from a 4-2 deficit after 2 periods to steal a decision from
Pittsburgh 5-4 in OT.
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Los Angeles have quietly gone about setting their own frantic pace and their win streak stands at 9, accounting for the
Rangers, Anaheim and Detroit, all at home this week.
- At the other end of the scale, the once promising
Islanders squad have dropped their last 7 and are quickly losing touch with the playoff contenders in the East as the pack sorts themselves out.
Tampa Bay are the big beneficiaries of this, now 1 point behind 6th
(Montreal) and with 3 games in hand.
- In the last month,
Tomas Vokoun's 14 starts have yielded 4 shutouts (!!!), a 1.63 GAA and a 0.950 save percentage. And yet,
Florida has only managed to capitalise with 7 wins in that time, and are currently on a 3 game slide after losing this week to
Anaheim, Calgary and Atlanta.
What's coming up
Ottawa have 4 games on tap this week before heading to the Olympics. On Tuesday, they host
Calgary (7:30pm, Sportsnet). Then they face a red hot
Washington Thursday (7pm, TSN). And to end the week, the Sens have back-to-back games on the road this weekend against
Detroit (Saturday, 7pm, CBC) and the
Islanders (Sunday, 5pm, MSG).
The only new injury to report on this week is
Erik Karlsson, who hurt his shoulder and will be rested this week and re-assessed after the Olympic break.
Nick Foligno remains on IR after breaking his leg on a blocked shot last week.
How the Sens handle this upcoming week will tell us a lot about this team. They've been in such great form but played a forgettable game Saturday. No one should expect Ottawa to win another 11 in a row, but it is important to bounce back and enter the Olympic break on a high note.
In other games this week:
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Vancouver's record-setting road trip continues, and they will seek their first regulation win this week. In a curious bit of scheduling, they roll into Sunrise to take on
Florida Thursday, and are then forced to travel over 1800km to play in
Columbus Friday.
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San Jose have dominated the West and now leave on a 4 game road trip. Their first game up tonight is up against upstarts
Toronto, recently responsible for shutting out
New Jersey and, of course,
Ottawa. Will there be another boilover?
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Boston earned their first win in 10 games yesterday in
Montreal, and they will look to build on their good form in
Buffalo (who are themselves winless in their last 4) Tuesday.
Who's hot?
- The line of
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble (Washington) has scored 20 goals and 25 assists in just 8 games and are a combined +35.
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JS Giguere (Toronto) has 2 consecutive shutouts since coming across to the Leafs.
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Keith Yandle (Phoenix) has 4 goals and 6 points at a +7 in the past 7 games.
Who's not?
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Mark Streit (Islanders) has just 1 assist and is a -9 in the past 8 games.
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Martin Brodeur (New Jersey) has picked a terrible time to hit a cold streak, but in his last 6 starts he has managed just 0.878 save percentage and a 2.94 GAA.
Weekly Preview #19
Do you remember my tweet near the beginning of the season "You think Ovechkin - Backstrom - Semin is hot, wait 'till you see Ovechkin - Backstrom - Knuble!"?
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