May I have some ice cream with my humble pie?

I am absolutely astonished. You might remember when Clouston was hired on as our coach I was certain that was the end of the season. I was dead certain that the Ottawa Senators would not respond and they would fall off to obscurity. Well, so far, it appears that I have a slice of humble pie coming my way.

Although a four game streak usually does not rank high on my list of amazing accomplishments, it is how the Sens got there. Home and home wins over the Sabres – one from a shootout the other from domination on the ice – tickled me red, white, black and gold again. Then there was the wild game against Minnesota!

IT’S A COME BACK KIDS!

I didn’t get to watch the game, but I checked the score at the end of the first period and I sighed deeply. How disappointing to hear a three goal deficit. My wife even came in and pointed out how poorly the Senators have played from behind. To my total amazement the Senators came back from three goals down and beat the Wild to the tune of 5-3. That win proved to me that not only do the Senators have the ability to overcome this adversity, but that the new coach was the right decision.

CLOUSTON, WE HAVE LIFT OFF

Yup. There we go. My first cliché about Clouston’s name... I figured I’d get that out of the way quickly. The Senators have played great hockey as of late. Clouston’s philosophy is one of offence and even the once fading away Dany Heatley has rebounded and started contributing again. The Ottawa Senators are poised to become a playoff spoiler for a number of teams and by the end of the month they could have leapt from 12th in the conference to playoff contention.

Playoff contention ... I said it. Can I have some ice cream too?

If you look at the teams the Senators play between now and March 1st, you can’t help but feel optimistic.

Feb 16 – Predators: 11th in the west
Feb 17 – Avalanche: 15th in the west
Feb 19 – Canucks: 5th in the west
Feb 21 – Canadiens: 5th in the east
Feb 24 – Hurricanes: 9th in the east
Feb 26 – Sharks: 1st in the west
Feb 28 – Maple Leafs: 11th in the east

Of these teams the obvious issue will be the Sharks. However, even might Boston had issues containing the Senators and the Sens had yet to fully turn the corner since Clouston’s hiring. If the Senators are able to pick up five wins in this schedule they will likely leap into 10th spot in the standings or so. Seems like a big feet to consider? Well, the Predators and Avs should pose as good tuning games when you get down to it. Although the west is a close race in points (in the under 70pts bracket), the Preds and Avs are unlikely to change momentum and get back into the hunt entirely. The Canadiens are another team that the Senators will need to exploit. They are destined for greatness, but it appears that this isn’t their year. As for the Leafs, well, the Sens have played horribly against them this year. However, they were never permitted to play a run and gun kind of game ... the sort of game the Leafs back end cannot stop. That leaves the ‘Nucks, Sharks and Canes. I think that the Canucks and the Sharks will be the true test of this club. The Canes are good, but the Nucks are starting to prove to be a powerhouse in the west.

Either way... I’ll admit it. I may have been wrong about this whole Clouston thing. I am happy to see Murray didn’t pull the trigger on any deals too. He is now in a position of strength if he feels the need to redo his club because he waited until they were playing better hockey. Perhaps now should simply let the team ride and focus on resigning some of the RFA/UFA market? We’ll have to see.

- W