Sens Heating Up: Ottawa 3; Washington 2

The Ottawa Senators earned their seventh point in their last four games, defeating the high flying Washington Captials 3-2. Brendan Bell returned from his banishment to the press box to provide the heroics with a late goal while Dany Heatley scored twice, giving him 4 in his last two games. The Senators, while victorious, deviated from their "Play 60 Minutes" plan, as the Captials were dominant in the second frame. To the Senators' credit, the Caps did spend almost half the middle stanza on the power play courtesy four Senator infractions, which helps to account for Washington's 19-3 shots on goal advantage.

The other two periods saw the Senators play quite well, out-shooting Ovechkin and co. 31-12 in the first and final 20 minute segments. It was nice to see Antoine Vermette get rewarded on the score sheet. While the former Victoriaville Tigre has been offensively anemic for much of the season, he managed to pot 3 assists last night. Vermette's play has been improving since Christmas, and he will need to keep contributing and improving if the Senators are going to make a serious push for the post-season.

The Senators' power play has been re-invigorated ever since Craig Hartsburg moved Dany Heatley to the second unit to provide more balance. The Sens have scored 5 goals with the man advantage in the four games since the shuffle, with another two or three coming within seconds of Carolina returning to full strength during Tuesday's game. That the power play can be a fickle lady is cause for concern going forward, but the Sens will take any momentum they can get at this point.

Game 44 for the Senators marked the NHL debut of Danish prospect Peter Regin. Regin looked strong on the puck and showed good wheels in spot duty for the flu-ridden Chris Neil. It looks as though the 2004 3rd rounder might need some more seasoning in the minors, but I for one liked what I saw.
Brian Lee's play is getting more and more impressive as time passes. After getting off to a horrendous start to this campaign that resulted in his being sent down to Binghamton, Lee is adjusting to the speed and intensity of the NHL game. I have been particularly impressed with Lee's willingness to take contact to make a play. Last night he skated into a devastating check to make a nice breakout pass that led to an Ottawa rush during the second period, a scene Sens fans are being treated to with increased frequency. Lee has also quietly demonstrated a willingness to throw himself in front of shots. He blocked two last night, and has been picking up numbers in that department, intercepting 15 in the Sens' 9 games so far this month. While the his development is still ongoing, its nice to see that he is willing to compete and sacrifice to make it in the bigs. While the Ottawas aren't likely to be playing hockey after mid-April, Lee's progression gives the club another piece to build with going forward.

I have discovered that the Sens' website posts Hartsburg's post-game presser after each contest. You can find it there, but I'll keep embedding them for your viewing pleasure.