What Are The Ottawa Senators Playoff Chances At The Midway Point?

As we all know the Senators were ranked 30th in the league in almost any “power rankings” article or list you read prior to the season starting.  Then the Senators came out of the gate and went 1-5-0 in their first six games and all the so called “experts” were saying we told you so and Senators fans were bracing themselves for a long season.  Since then the Sens have gone 20-10-5 and currently sit in 5th position in the Eastern Conference with 47 points in 41 games.  The position might not be as accurate as it seems however, because the Senators have played more games than any other team in the East, but if you look at points per game played they are still slotted in at the 7th position (Penguins and Capitals jump ahead).  If the season ended today and every team went by points per game played the Senators would be facing the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.

Can They Keep It Up?

If the Senators can do the exact same in the second half of the season they would finish with 94 points, which would surely earn them a playoff spot.  Last season 94 points would have resulted in an 8th place finish, while the year before it would have resulted in a 5th place finish (which just so happened to be where the Sens finished that season with exactly 94 points).

So the question becomes can they do at least the same in the second half.  In my opinion, yes and possibly even better.  As mentioned earlier the Sens got off to a horrible start and that likely will not happen in this second half, which means they will not have to be “catching up” the entire time.

The Kyle Turris trade filled a whole that was created when Regin was injured and so far Turris has looked fairly good and I only expect him to get better as his confidence builds (his beauty tip goal last night should help this).  In net Anderson has been playing tremendously, but the team does need Auld to win a game here and there to give Anderson some time off now and then.

The third and fourth line players on the Senators have been over performing compared to preseason analysis, which is a big reason the Sens have been playing so well and I don’t see this slowing down anytime soon.  Eric Condra and Zack Smith are two great penalty killers with offensive upside, each of whom are big +’s on the team.  Another big surprise would have to be the play of Jared Cowen who could easily be in a competition with Karlsson as the team’s top d-man.  The two compliment each other so well and they should be a great tandem on the back end for the Senators moving forward.

Do The Sens Have A Chance at the Stanley Cup?

The oddsmakers still do not believe in the Senators this season.  Sportsbook 5Dimes.com has the Senators at +10,000 odds to win the Cup, which is only better than 6 other teams.  Even teams that are almost out of the playoff hunt such as the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning have shorter odds.  If you do want to place a bet at 5Dimes, make sure you use a 5Dimes marketing code to get the best bonus possible.

In my opinion the Senators don’t have a great shot at the Stanley Cup this year, but nothing is out of the question.  Craig Anderson could stand on his head and the team has the offensive fire power and experience to make something happen if they do make the playoffs.  The big bad Bruins would be extremely hard to beat however.