Milan Michalek is out indefinitely with an "upper body injury".For those of you who missed the first half of the season and the entire Ottawa media machine, you might not have caught on to the fact that this means Ottawa's entire top line, Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson, is now out injured.
Since Spezza's injury on 14 December, the team has gone 4-6-2, for 10 points out of 24. Since Alfredsson's injury on 23 December, the team has gone 2-3-2, or 6 points out of 14.
(Since Michalek's injury last night, the team has gone for a ride on an aeroplane, and presumably someone's picked up some frequent flyer points out of that.)
Now some of these losses are attributable to the loss of these key players. But some of them are attributable to the mix of stronger, better rested opponents that the schedule has been producing for the team to face.
Honestly, at the beginning of the season very few people expected the Senators to even be in with a chance at the playoffs; yet here we are. I think that the "success" that the Senators have enjoyed is more attributable to softer, tired opponents playing in the Senators' rink. I don't think that in the long run this team will continue the overall level of results they have achieved thus far.
This season is going to get grim before it is over.
