Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators are in the market for some desperately needed scoring help.

Despite a reasonable 7-4-3 record to start the season, the Senators have received spotty offensive production. Through 13 games played, the Sens have scored only 2.62 goals per game, ranking 16th in the NHL.

Most of the credit for the fast start goes to the goaltending tandem of Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner. Together, the Senators goalies have allowed only 2.29 goals per game, which ranks 10th in the NHL.

The Search For Offensive Help

That's where Chris Stewart comes in.

The Buffalo Sabres winger has been rumoured to be on the move for a while, as the bottom-feeding Sabres are pursuing a total rebuild.

Stewart would fit in well in Ottawa. He offers an intriguing mix of size (6'2", 230 pounds) and scoring, having registered 116 goals and 230 points in 398 career games. Stewart also owns an impressive career shooting percentage of 13 percent.

The addition of Stewart would also allow the Senators to play veteran Chris Neil less.

Neil has played out of position as a second-line winger so far this season. Reducing Neil's role would benefit the Sens, as Neil has managed a poor 43.4 Corsi percentage this year, ranking 19th among Senators skaters.

Though Stewart has posted only a 40.1 Corsi percentage himself, his mark ranks second on the Sabres. Stewart's puck-possession rate would almost certainly increase by a dramatic degree.

The Price to Acquire Stewart

The Sabres have reduced their asking price for Stewart since last season. Per Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe, Buffalo would likely accept just a draft pick for Stewart, especially after his brutal start to the season.

Though the Senators might be willing to pay that price, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that Colin Greening is likely available based on his lack of playing time so far this season. If Greening was included in a deal, the Senators might be able to offer less than a premium draft pick in a package to acquire Stewart.

While Sens fans may be excited by the opportunity to acquire a scoring forward with size to bolster their forward ranks, Stewart's horrendous start to the season (two points in 13 games) serves as a warning of the streaky spells Stewart has battled throughout his career.

Ottawa may be better off providing young forwards such as Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman and Curtis Lazar with opportunities to play rather than dealing with Stewart's inconsistent play.

What do you think, Sens fans? Would you like to see Chris Stewart in Ottawa, or is he an inconsistent player best left on someone else's team?

The Ottawa Senators have had a strong start to the season, winning four of their first five games. 

Despite that, their possession stats have been awful. The Sens have fallen to 28th in the NHL in Corsi For (CF) percentage, down from finishing in eighth spot in CF percentage last season. In the long run, the lack of puck possession will catch up with the Senators and lead to a free fall to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Though the season is still young, the notable drop in possession raises the question: How much is Marc Methot worth to the Sens?

Marc Methot: Resisting the Urge to Overpay

By all accounts, Marc Methot is a good guy who is happy to be in Ottawa. 

Smile - hockey’s back. #SensCamp pic.twitter.com/bMIoHNbbce

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 21, 2014

And when the injured defenseman is ready to return to the lineup, his physical style adds a lot to the back end for the Ottawa Senators. Just ask Mikael Granlund. 

But with contract discussions stalled and Methot's camp looking for as much as reported five-year, $27.5 million contract extension, per Pierre Lebrun at ESPN.com, Sens fans must ask, is MM worth that much?

In short, the answer is likely no.

Despite Methot's 52.1 CF percentage last season, his Corsi score relative to those of his teammates was actually -0.5, revealing that Methot's possession was actually below that of the average Senators player. Erik Karlsson, Patrick Wiercioch, Joe Corvo and Chris Phillips all finished with a higher relative CF percentage.

This is concerning, particularly because only Karlsson and Wiercioch started a lower percentage of their shifts in the defensive zone, meaning that Methot wasn't overly burdened with possession-stat-killing defensive-zone starts.

Though serviceable, these analytics reveal a player whose defensive skill set is likely a little overestimated in the nation's capital. 

But serviceable, minute-munching defensemen carry value in the NHL. Marc Methot handled the second-most minutes for the Sens last year, logging 200 minutes more ice time than the third-highest skater on the list. There's value in that kind of a workhorse defensemen. At his current contract level of $3.75 million a year ($3 million-a-year cap hit), Capgeek lists Clayton Stoner, Roman Polak, and Andy Greene as comparably compensated players. At that level, a workhorse with about team-average possession skills is valuable.

However, if Methot moves into the $5 million-a-year range, his new comparable defensemen, per Capgeek, include Jay Bouwmeester, Brent Seabrook, and Keith Yandle. That's much tougher company for the solid stay-at-home blueliner to keep.

In Conclusion

Marc Methot is a hometown guy. His asking price may only be $300,000 higher than what the Ottawa Senators have offered. per the 6th Sens. In that case, it's difficult to imagine that a deal won't be struck between the two sides.

But at $5 million USD over five seasons, this deal could be one that the Senators would be better off without.

What do you think, Sens fans? Is $5 million a year for five years a fair deal for the likable defenseman or too much for a replaceable player?

All possession stats courtesy of Puckalytics, unless indicated otherwise

The Ottawa Senators have started the NHL season strong with a 4-1-0 record, grabbing fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. This start is impressive for two reasons.

First, the Senators have only played five games, fewer than any other team in the East.

Second, the record is surprising because the Senators have been an atrocious puck-possession team. 

Let's take a look at the hot start in Ottawa, the Sens' PDO, and early-season Corsi stars and duds.

PDO and Corsi: The Senators Start the Year with Luck

Despite the four-game winning streak, the Ottawa Senators have sputtered at the start of the season. With a number of inexperienced skaters taking regular turns, such as Mike Hoffman, Curtis Lazar and Mark Stone, the team's puck possession has been spotty.

The Sens currently rank 28th in the NHL in Corsi For, with a CF percentage of 44.1. Even worse, 17 of the 19 Senators who have played this season are carrying a CF percentage below 50 percent.

So how have the Senators remained so competitive?

Luck.

The Ottawa Senators are currently ranked fifth in PDO in the NHL, with a 103.75 rating. In general, PDO tends toward 1.00 over the course of a season. No team maintained a PDO above 102.5 for the full season in 2013-14. 

With this rate of PDO, the Sens can be expected to see fewer goals for and/or more against when playing five-on-five as their luck evens out (for more on why this is expected, check out this post by Cam Charron).

Fewer goals for and more goals against will likely take some of the steam out of the fast start for the Ottawa Senators.

Corsi Stars and Duds

Milan Michalek

In the early going, Milan Michalek and Bobby Ryan stand out in possession rates.

First, Milan Michalek's ice time has been limited, skating on the third or fourth line and receiving virtually no run on special teams.

Paul MacLean would be wise to increase Michalek's usage, as the veteran forward is easily the best possession performer with a CF percentage of 54.4. Though possession rates can be inflated if a skater starts the majority of his shifts in the offensive zone, Milan Michalek's rate seems legitimate, given the winger has started his shifts evenly in all three zones.

Without a point through the first five games, look for Michalek's poor personal luck (PDO of 97.2) to turn around with increased ice time.

Bobby Ryan

Conversely, the well-compensated Bobby Ryan has face-planted to this season. With a CF percentage of 31.8 percent—the worst mark of any Ottawa Senators player—Ryan is truly struggling so far. Ryan's PDO is actually a little high (101.7), but his offensive zone starts are lagging (25 percent—the fourth-lowest on the team). For Sens fans, the hope is that Ryan's possession rates and overall performance levels even out as his usage normalizes.

***

Sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with games in hand, now is hardly time to panic in the nation's capital. But in the long run, the Senators will have to hope their possession rates increase; riding the PDO wave can't last long term.

What do you think, Sens fans? Are you happy with the way the Ottawa Senators have played so far or do the poor possession rates worry you?

Stats courtesy of Puckalytics unless otherwise noted.

The Ottawa Senators rolled the dice when they traded for winger Bobby Ryan prior to last season with just two years remaining on his contract. That risk paid off on Thursday. The team announced a seven-year deal for the talented winger:

BREAKING: The #Sens have signed @b_ryan9 to a seven year contract extension.

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 2, 2014

The contract will carry an AAV of $7.25 million. #Sens

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 2, 2014

TSN's Bob McKenzie first reported the deal:

Bobby Ryan's contract extension with OTT is 7 years with an AAV of $7.25M.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) October 2, 2014

Ryan was set to become a free agent following the 2014-15 campaign, but the Senators ensured that he will reside in Canada's capital for many years to come.

ESPN's Pierre LeBrun provided a full breakdown of how the money is spread out, and gave more details on other aspects of the contract:

Bobby Ryan extension breakdown: 6.5 7 7.25 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 2, 2014

Bobby Ryan deal has full NMC/partial NTC: Can't be waived or assigned but has to give list of 10 teams if requested for no trade

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 2, 2014

Ian Mendes of TSN provided owner Eugene Melnyk's thoughts on the deal:

Melnyk confirms 7-year contract extension for Bobby Ryan. "He is truly the type of player we want to build our team around."

— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) October 2, 2014

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun provided Ryan's thoughts:

Ryan says "I want to say how thrilled we are to make a long-term commitment to the city of Ottawa." #Sens

— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) October 2, 2014

"When it came to this decision it was fairly easy ... it was almost a no-brainer for us," says Ryan. #Sens

— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) October 2, 2014

There was some concern among Sens fans that a deal wouldn't get done prior to the start of the regular season. Some speculated that Ryan had turned down a lucrative offer, but McKenzie reports that nothing of the sort happened:

Regarding reports Bobby Ryan turned down 7 x $7M from OTT, my understanding is not only did Ryan NOT turn it down, it was never offered.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 17, 2014

Ryan would have commanded big money on the open market as a four-time 30-goal scorer, which is why Kevin Allen of USA Today believes that locking him up was a huge move by Ottawa:

Bobby Ryan signing a major coup for Senators. He was expected to test the free agent market.

— Kevin Allen (@ByKevinAllen) October 2, 2014

The Cherry Hill, N.J. native was an offensive force with the Anaheim Ducks for six seasons before being dealt up north in 2013. Ryan averaged 23 goals and 48 points in his first season with the Senators, which marked the lowest totals of his career in an 82-game season.

Ryan was limited to just 70 games, though, due to a sports hernia. According to Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun, Ryan is confident that his injury issues are now a thing of the past.

There (were lingering issues), all summer long, but I had a breakthrough at one point where the pain just kind of stopped being there. A lot of it had to do when you got back on the ice, breaking through that scar tissue. A lot of people I talked to that had the surgery said it took a year to feel right, for them. I think the fact I had so much time off after the surgery until I had to be on skates again was really a factor in feeling so good.

The Senators are certainly hopeful that Ryan's confidence is well placed since they have made a major investment in him as a first-line, cornerstone player.

With center Jason Spezza getting traded to the Dallas Stars this offseason, the onus is now on Ryan to be the team's top offensive player.

If Ryan is healthy, his track record suggests that he is up to the task.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter

Following two years of steady progress by its young squad, a disappointed Ottawa Senators team found itself outside the playoff picture at the end of the 2013-14 season.

The trade of Jason Spezza led to a tumultuous summer that was short on upgrades. The Sens will need to improve from within if they hope to get back into playoff contention.

What We Learned in 2013-14

Paul McLean won the 2013 Jack Adams Trophy for leading an injury-plagued Ottawa Senators team on an unexpected journey to the second round of the playoffs. It looked like it would be onward and upward in 2013-14—until Daniel Alfredsson surprised everyone by signing as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings.

https://twitter.com/reallisa/status/353259797749039104

After naming Jason Spezza as their new captain for 2013-14, the Senators stumbled to a 4-6-2 record in October.

Craig Anderson followed up a season during which he led all goaltenders with a 1.69 goals-against average with a 4-4-2 record and 3.16 GAA over the first month of the season, but he wasn't the only problem.

As a whole, Ottawa took a step backwards defensively. Erik Karlsson came back from a scary Achilles tendon injury to lead all NHL defensemen in scoring with 74 points, but goals against were an issue.

After a stingy 2012-13 campaign during which the team ranked second overall in GAA, Ottawa slid all the way to 27th in the NHL last season.

One bright spot was a late-season surge sparked by Ales Hemsky's acquisition at the trade deadline. Hemsky showed great chemistry with Spezza, leading the Sens to a 9-2-1 record in their last 12 games.

It wasn't enough, as Ottawa finished 11th in the Eastern Conference and 21st in the league with 88 points.

Outlook for 2014-15

Life didn't get any easier in Ottawa after the end of the season.

For the second straight summer, the team lost its captain—this time, when Spezza requested a trade with one year left on his contract. He used his no-trade clause to veto a deal with the Nashville Predators before landing with the Dallas Stars, where he'll add insult to injury as he continues his partnership with Hemsky.

Less than two weeks after the Spezza saga concluded, the Senators took another body blow when it was announced that general manager and president of hockey operations Bryan Murray is being treated for cancer.

All told, the Senators didn't make many roster changes over the summer. Other than Spezza and Hemsky, the only other departure was restricted free-agent center Stephane Da Costa, who didn't receive a qualifying offer.

The most important new additions to the lineup will be veteran center David Legwand, who was signed as a free agent, and young winger Alex Chiasson, the key piece that came back from Dallas in the Spezza deal.

Chiasson showed some offensive flair as he recorded 13 goals and 35 points during his rookie season with the Stars.

Here's a look at the Senators' projected lineup for the new season:

	Forward
	Defense
	Goal
Clarke MacArthur	Kyle Turris	Bobby Ryan
Milan Michalek	Mika Zibanejad	Alex Chiasson
Colin Greening	Zack Smith	Chris Neil
Mike Hoffman	David Legwand	Mike Stone
Erik Condra		Derek Grant
Marc Methot		Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen		Cody Ceci
Chris Phillips		Patrick Wiercioch
Eric Gryba
	Craig Anderson
	Robin Lehner

Coach Paul MacLean told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun that he'd like to see Mika Zibanejad step up and claim some of the ice time at center that has been freed up by Spezza's departure. The coaching staff has a plan in place to protect him in his development:

He is certainly someone we want to give the opportunity to take that ice time. ... (Zibanejad) is at that stage where his growth can be substantial and significant. We also have to be careful in the long-term when it's not going his way, and it's not always going to go his way, we can't keep forcing him out there. With guys like Zack Smith and Legwand, it gives us a chance to insulate Mika when he needs it.

MacLean isn't tipping his hand about who will be named captain or when an announcement will be made:

I'm a big believer that you need to have a captain. ... If you don't have the right person, or feel the person is not prepared for it or is not the guy who represents what you need him to, I think you have to be strong enough to wait until you have that guy. ... When we're ready to make that decision, we'll make it. Is that tomorrow, is it next week or is it January or February? That's part of the process.

On defense, it's hoped that 2012 first-rounder Cody Ceci will be able to play a bigger role in his second season with the Sens.

Ottawa's situation in net is stable. Both Craig Anderson and backup Robin Lehner signed new deals over the summer. The only question is whether playing time will follow a similar pattern to last year: The pair put up similar numbers with Anderson starting 52 games and Lehner starting 30.

According to CapGeek.com, the Senators currently have 23 NHL players signed and $14.1 million in salary-cap space.

Ottawa has a strong record of drafting and developing NHL players. For the moment, there's not much room up the middle for young players, but the prospect who's likeliest to be ready to take a step up is 19-year-old center Curtis Lazar, who was chosen 15th overall in 2013 and won the 2014 Memorial Cup with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

How excited is Curtis Lazar? Can't wipe the smile off the face of this @Senators prospect http://t.co/K8coBAFgUk 1on1 interview

— Gino Reda (@GinoRedaTSN) September 16, 2014

Lazar's too young to play in the AHL this season, so if he doesn't make the Senators out of training camp, he'll spend another season back in junior.

With few personnel changes and the departure of one of their most important players, the Ottawa Senators may have a tough time improving on last season's performance in 2014-15. They'll need to recommit to the underdog work ethic they displayed in 2012-13 if they hope to see some success.

Some might argue that center David Legwand has reached the twilight of his career, but the wily veteran has an opportunity to play a big role with the Ottawa Senators in 2014-15.

Legwand hasn't had to do much moving over the course of his NHL career, but the veteran forward found a new home this offseason when he signed a two-year contract in free agency with Ottawa, according to the Sens' official Twitter account:   

The Nashville Predators made Legwand the first draft pick in the history of their franchise when they took him with the No. 2 overall selection in the 1998 NHL entry draft. Perhaps he never reached his fullest potential, but Legwand has carved out a nice career for himself.

The 33-year-old native of Detroit is the Predators' all-time leading scorer with 566 points in 956 games. He seemed destined to spend his entire career in Nashville, but the longtime partnership finally came to an end this past season when he was dealt to his hometown Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline.

The Preds apparently decided that they didn't intend to re-sign the impending unrestricted free agent, so they made the difficult decision to part ways with him.

Legwand's Red Wings did make the playoffs, but their run was cut short as they fell to a superior Boston Bruins team in the first round. Legwand certainly contributed in terms of helping Detroit reach the playoffs, but he was a virtual non-factor once it got there.

Despite his postseason struggles with Detroit, Legwand was still an intriguing commodity in free agency. Centers are always at a premium, and the Senators were in desperate need of a reliable one.

Ottawa dealt franchise player Jason Spezza to the Dallas Stars, which left a gaping hole in its top six. Legwand isn't the same dynamic pivot as Spezza, but Stephen Whyno of The Canadian Press views him as a logical signing:

One particular asset that comes to mind regarding Legwand is versatility. He is a metaphorical Swiss army knife in that he can do a little bit of everything and fit just about anywhere in the lineup.

According to Chris Lund of OttawaSenators.com, that is largely what compelled Sens general manager Bryan Murray to pursue him.

David is a good, veteran center. A guy that skates pretty well, gets up and down the ice, he got 51 points this year. He's an experienced guy that can fill the top or bottom of the lineup. We believe he has been a captain and a leader so we know we're getting a good person. We just think the way things shook out for us that having an experienced center that can be a decent face-off man, be a good defensive player, get points was very important at this time.

As much as Murray seems to like the fit, Legwand may be even more thrilled. Legwand likely had several teams to choose from due to the dearth of center talent on the open market, but Jason York of Sportsnet reports that Ottawa was Legwand's desired landing spot:

With Kyle Turris almost certainly assuming the top-line center role, Legwand will be Ottawa's de facto No. 2 center to start the season. There is no guarantee that he will remain in that spot for the entirety of the season, but Legwand doesn't seem to have much competition unless Mika Zibanejad improves by leaps and bounds.

Durability was somewhat of a question mark for Legwand in the earlier part of his career, but he has managed to remain healthy over the past three seasons, having missed just four games during that time.

In fact, Legwand played more regular-season games than any player in the NHL this past season due to the way the schedules fell following his trade, per Stan Nieradka of Hockey Night in Canada:

If Legwand is able to carry that over and stay mostly healthy throughout the season, then he has a chance to be a very productive player in Ottawa. Legwand is usually good for anywhere from 40 to 50 points in a season, which is roughly around where he should fall during the upcoming campaign.

Legwand played a top-six role during his time with the Preds last season and ended up with some solid stats at the end of the season. With that in mind, totals of 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points are very much in reach.

He isn't a player who is going to score 30 goals or be a first-line center, but he is a solid second-line player and excellent third-line player who figures to be well worth his contract.

Legwand is essentially a gun for hire at this juncture of his career, and it will be interesting to see how he fares with a new beginning.

The Senators will have to get much better in order to be a playoff team in 2014-15. The addition of Legwand probably isn't enough to get them there with Spezza out the door, but Legwand is likely to have a typical season from a personal perspective.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

Currently out of the playoff picture, the Ottawa Senators are ironically in a better position right now than they were last year as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

Granted, a lot of that has to do with the relative health of the team this year compared to last, when they sustained 219 man games lost the entire lockout-shortened season. That was the fourth-most amount in the league. This season, they’re dead last with just 26. The 29th-place team, the Los Angeles Kings, have sustained more than 50 more, with 78.

While that turnaround is amazing in its own right, it’s a larger wonder the Senators are only now finding their legs after finding so much success last year, much of it without the services of players like Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson, Craig Anderson and Milan Michalek.

Currently at 21-18-8, the Senators are one point out of the last wild-card spot and seven back of the Montreal Canadiens for the third Atlantic Division berth. However, arguably more significantly, the Sens are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, meaning as recently as just before Christmas, Ottawa was 14-17-6 and a different team for all intents and purposes.

It can be argued that they are actually a playoff team currently, meaning them making the playoffs is a simple matter of them continuing to do just what they’ve been doing, i.e., winning. It’s of course not necessarily that simple. Thankfully, though, it’s also not as simple as head coach Paul MacLean letting a pit bull loose in the locker room and then dressing whomever makes it out unscathed…you know, however logical that would be in theory.

In 2011-12, the last full NHL season, the Senators coincidentally finished the year as the eighth seed in the East with 92 points. Assuming that is the minimum amount of points needed to make it this season—the Montreal Canadiens made it in 2009-10 with just 88—the Senators need 42 points in there final 35 games, eight sets of which are back-to-back.

While on the surface that may seem to be a tall order, it becomes even taller. They’ve got just 16 home games left, compared to 19 on the road. It gets worse.

Starting with Thursday night’s game against the Habs, the Senators will play four straight against playoff teams, putting their current streak in serious jeopardy. Additionally, of their 35 total games left, 20 are against teams above them in the standings.

That’s not even counting the February 27 game against the always tough Detroit Red Wings, who as of Wednesday night are no longer one of the East’s top eight teams and have the same 50 points as the Sens.

Back in October, Sens fans would probably have gladly “taken” being tied with the Wings past the midway point of the season. However, that would have likely only been because the implication was the perennial-contender Wings had only gotten better with the acquisition of Daniel Alfredsson in the offseason.

Considering the Sens’ success last season with essentially a skeleton staff, matching the Wings blow for blow would have been realistic too. As it happens, both teams have just plain blown, each in real danger of missing the postseason.

The two teams are going in different directions, though, with the Sens suddenly surging and the injury plagued Wings floundering. Competing with the Wings atop the conference might have been the ideal scenario—Alfredsson having jumped ship in favor of a supposedly better, final shot at a championship. However, perhaps beating him out for the final playoff spot will end up being even sweeter.

The Sens do have one ace up their sleeve in that regard despite the tough road ahead, in addition to them currently firing on all cylinders that is. Twenty-five of their remaining games are against Eastern opponents. As a result, despite not currently being in the playoffs, their fate is very much in their hands. In other words, as alluded to earlier, just win—as they’ve been doing without fail recently—and you’re in.

As evidenced by their unlikely, yet dominant five-game first-round victory over the Habs last spring, anything can happen at that point. If the Sens everyone’s been seeing recently are truly for real, though, it doesn’t need too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9LhKuUjwa8

The season is young, but Clarke MacArthur might have already tallied up the most amazing assist you’ll see in the NHL this year.

The Ottawa Senators winger managed to slip an incredible between-the-legs pass through the Minnesota Wild defense Wednesday night, and the result was points on the board.

This moment of magic was spotted by Mike Brehm of For The Win, and it’s probably the prettiest thing you’ll see on ice this week.

MacArthur’s pass came early in the first period with the game still scoreless. The winger had gathered up a loose puck and was facing down Wild defenseman Ryan Suter when he tried something tricky.

Dropping the puck back between his legs, MacArthur slipped a pass in front of the net to Kyle Turris, who capitalized on the opportunity.

The shorthanded rush was a thing of beauty, especially because the window of opportunity for MacArthur’s pass was absurdly small. One inch either way, and the puck would’ve hit a skate or been intercepted. 

A GIF of the pass was crafted by @CJZero.

It’s a moment that deserves to be watched again and again.

This wasn't the first occasion of between-the-legs heroics this year, however. That distinction belongs to San Jose Sharks rookie Tomas Hertl, who scored on an outrageous between-the-legs score as part of a four-goal effort against the New York Rangers earlier this season.

Not bad for a 19-year-old. 

Unfortunately for MacArthur, however, the Senators would go on to fall to the Wild 4-3.

It’s all right, Clarke. At least you made the highlight reel.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxYjeNZvICk

Had it happened on the other end of the ice, it would’ve been beautiful.

The reality, however, is that rookie Mark Borowiecki owes Craig Anderson an apology and potentially several hundred pushups after stuffing a backhand own goal past his keeper.

The disastrous goal occurred during Sunday’s matchup between the Ottawa Senators and the Dallas Stars. The blunder was spotted by NESN (via FoxSports.com), and the sportscasters calling the game had no shortage of adjectives for describing the laziness and the ineptitude that led to this own goal.

Stars left winger Antoine Roussel managed to slip the puck past Anderson’s stick and into the crease, where Borowiecki finished it off by going five-hole and clearing the puck into the net with a “pretty” backhanded shot.

While Borowiecki deserves the bulk of the blame for the goof-up, Stars color analyst Daryl Reaugh mentioned this “nothing play” could’ve been avoided had the keeper shown more initiative.

“Should’ve probably been cut off by the net-minder, Anderson,” Reaugh commented on-air. “It goes right underneath his stick. A lazy play by [Anderson]. A dreadful, cadaverous play by [Borowiecki].”

It was a trough-like moment for the young defender, who was making his NHL debut for the team and had played admirably until the own goal.

Borowiecki’s blunder and the resulting goal broke a 2-2 tie at the beginning of the third period and put Dallas in the lead. The Senators battled back to tie the game but eventually lost 4-3 in a shootout.

The own goal was just one of the many, many pucks that have been flying at and/or into the Senators net. Last Friday, the team gave up a franchise record of 57 shots and have lost their last four games.

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