Senators sliding
Suddenly, things aren't so rosy in Ottawa. The Senators have lost six of seven since a 15-2 start. Their goaltending is a mess, with 23 goals against in the last five games. And now they're dealing with a key injury.
Defenseman Anton Volchenkov suffered a broken finger in Thursday's 6-5 loss to Nashville and will be out for a month. Volchenkov was struck by a shot from old friend J.P. Dumont in the opening minute of the game. He had been playing more than 20 minutes a game with Chris Phillips on Ottawa's top defensive tandem and was leading the league in blocked shots for the second straight year.
Christoph Schubert, who flip-flops back and forth from forward to defense, is now going to become a regular on the blueline.
The Sabres split two games with Ottawa a couple of weeks ago and probably should have won both. Yes, the Sens are still first in the East but they don't seem so unbeatable or unreachable anymore.
All together now: Emmm-ree. Emmm-ree.
---Mike Harrington
