The Ottawa Senators had high expectations for this season. After all they finished 4th overall last season, didn't lose any key players, and added Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri during Free Agency. Then the season started... and it was worse than anyone expected. It took 9 games for the Senators to get their first win, and even then it wasn't the start of a winning streak. The team looked dead in the water and the season lost. Even when they strung a few wins together, their awful start kept them at the bottom of the standings.
Then came a fateful game against the Philadelphia Flyers, a game many players now single out as the turning point of the season. The Senators were humiliated 6-1. "I've never been so embarrassed in my life", explained alternate captain Tyler Seguin recently when he was asked about the game. "Before that we were all looking at someone else to turn around our season. After that game, we all started taking responsibility. It just changed the way we approached every game. Even if we didn't make it to the playoffs, we all wanted to gain back some respect, to play like we are all capable of". The Senators went 18-6-1 in the next 25 games after that loss, climbing back into the playoff race.
The fight for a playoff spot is far from over, and the Senators are still on the outside looking in, but they've pulled themselves within reach. The race for the 2 wild car spots includes the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres at this point.
The Senators have pulled the trigger on a trade to add Remi Elie. Elie has been enjoying a breakout season in Minnesota and gives Ottawa one more option up front. To acquire him the Senators had to part with promising center Logan Brown, who has been centering one of the top two lines in Belleville for a couple seasons. Brown was expected to break into the NHL in the next season or two. The Senators also sent a pair of 2nd round picks, Arizona's this season and their own next season.
Now the stretch run begins.