Hamburgler making records with Ottawa as young players shine
The Ottawa Senators were all but consigned to miss the play-offs until a month ago when Andrew Hammond was given his first start in the NHL against the Montreal Canadiens. Since then he has gone a historic run which leaves him one game away from setting a record tonight. If he lets in two or fewer games tonight he will break Frank Brimsek's 77 year record of letting in two or fewer in his first 12 NHL starts and extend it to 13 starts. He is currently 11-0-1 in 12 starts with a GAA of 1.35 and a .956SV%. Those performances will stop at one point and he will return to more normal numbers but for now he will be attempting to ride it as long as possible.
Hammond's performances have helped propel the Senators up the table and close the gap on the Boston Bruins in the last Wild Card spot. Currently, the Senators are four points behind the Bruins with a game in hand. Tonight's opponent? The Bruins. This could be the game that makes the Senator's season. A win and they're just two points off with an extra game to play. A loss, that would be a big set-back and it would be a big ask to claw back six points with just 13 games left.
Up the other end of the ice the Ottawa Senators are benefiting from break-out years from two young prospects in Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone who are both enjoying superb years with 42 and 46 points respectively. This was something a bit un-expected when you consider that they together before this had just 14 points in the 52 games they'd played. The Senators will be hoping that they are able to build on these performances and continue it through to next season to give the team a good chance of qualifying next year when they're more advanced in their development.
These performances have enthused the Ottawa fans and given them a big fan backing as they hunt down the last play-off spot in the East. The Senators are one team I would not want to face right now. If they get in I think they could surprise people.
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