Do You Believe In The Senators?

Are the Ottawa Senators for real? There are a lot of people who bet on hockey are wondering this very same point.

The Senators are now the hottest team in the NHL and there really isn’t much question about that after they toppled the team that previously held that title.

The Washington Capitals had been winners of 14 straight but lost in Montreal on Wednesday night and then lost again to the Ottawa Senators the following night.

While the Capitals have now lost two straight, the Senators have now won 13 of their last 14 games.

The Capitals were expected to be among the best teams in the Eastern Conference since they reached the Conference Finals last year but the Senators were not expected to be anywhere near the top of the conference.

As many people will recall, the Senators traded away All-Star forward Dany Heatley in the offseason, which really gave the impression that the Senators were not planning to compete. The Sens dropped in the sportsbook odds and bookmakers (bookmaker reviews) had the Senators expected point total to be set at 84.5.

As we approach the Olympic Break, the Senators have racked up 74 points in 61 games and going to tear a hole through that measly total.

Overall, the main difference in Ottawa has been the Heatley trade. Heatley is clearly one of the best goal scorer of this generation but the reality is that the Sens were a one-trick pony with one excellent line and very little scoring depth. But the trade of Heatley returned a package to Ottawa that has provided plenty of depth, which is one of the reasons why the team is thriving now.

While Jonathan Cheechoo has struggled, Milan Michalek has contributed 19 goals. Also, the Sens signed Alexei Kovalev with some of the money freed up and Kovalev has chipped in 41 points.

Overall, the Senators might really be just one top-six forward away from being a serious Stanley Cup contender.

The Sens goaltending has also significantly improved as both Pascal Leclaire (when healthy) and Brian Elliott have provided the team with consistent netminding. That has also been an issue for many years in Ottawa.

There are some NHL trade rumours that the Sens will acquire another scoring forward and if they do, watch out for them as this a team that is steamrolling towards the playoffs.