The team has climbed to third in the Eastern Conference, had an 11-game winning streak, look to have better balance than in recent years under a no-nonsense coach who’s snapped them to attention and might have solved an age old goaltending problem.
But is anyone taking the Ottawa Senators seriously?
An 11 year playoff run too often fell short of expectation and even though the Senators are just three years removed from a trip to the final they missed the playoffs last season so are surrounded by an understandable skepticism, or at least a 'show me' attitude.
Now after winning 14 of 16 games before the Olympic break the Senators have started the stretch run with two straight losses in which they were sloppy defensively and had to use both goalies in each game.
Read the rest here