Ottawa goes Swedish

OTTAWA – The Ottawa Senators just barely made the Eastern Conference playoffs but gave the New York Rangers a run for their money as the 8^th seed in the conference.   The Sens have a lot to look forward to next season and with a few new pieces here and there Ottawa could be a contender rather than a pretender next season.
Ottawa was 4^th in offense, 24^th in defense, 11^th on the power play, and 20^th on the penalty kill. The offense was led by the much maligned Jason Spezza with 34 goals and 50 assists.   Oddly enough a defenseman, Erik Karlsson, was second on the team in points with 19 goals and 59 assists. Milan Michalek pumped in 35 goals to lead the team and Daniel Alfredsson put in 27.Five other players had over 10 goals.
On defense, despite being 24^th overall, one would think that most of the defensemen had off years. Of the eight defenseman that suited up for the Sens last season, only three were a negative in the plus/minus category and Filip Kuba was a stellar +26.
Overall the goaltending was solid. Craig Anderson had a good year but will have to bring down his 2.84 goals against average if the Sens are to go far next season.   Robin Lehner made most of his five chances in net when he had the chance and should get more playing time next season.
In the pipeline the Senators have center Mika Zibanejad, and three other right wing prospects that round out the Senators top five prospects along with Lehner.   The Sens need at least two blue chip prospects on defense if the Sens are to make some headway down the road.
Fortunately the Sens should have a few quality prospects to choose from come draft day since it is a very defensive laden draft. On PHN’s draft board Hampus Lindholm and Derrick Pouliot still on the board, along with Ollie Maatta and Brady Skjei, but when push comes to shove we know how Ottawa loves their Swedes.
“With the 15^th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Ottawa Senators select, from the Swedish Elite League, defenseman Hampus Lindholm.“
To learn more about Hampus Lindholm click here .
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohckeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com