The Ottawa Senators have been giving up too many shots. The Senators rank 29th in shots allowed per game giving up 34.05 shots, yet they have only been generating 26.84 shots a game which places them 26th in the league in that category. In terms of Corsi% they are 23rd in the league at a 48.3%.
Jared Cowen has been scratched from the Senators line up six times this season. Was it fair to scratch Cowen? Paul MacLean is gone, Dave Cameron is in. With Cameron in charge, one has to ask if Cowen will still be watching games from the press box
The Senators have been out shot 20 times this season, tied the opponent in shots 2 times, and outshot their opponent 5 times. The Senators are actually quite fortunate to be 11-11-5 considering how often their opponents have dominated possession. That being said, how does Cowen fit into the Senators defensive equation?
I believe he is not a negative part of the Senators defensive equation. One element of his season has been bad luck. The goaltenders have put up a save percentage of .935 during five on five play. When Cowen is on the ice the save percentage has been much lower. I do not believe this is completely Cowen’s fault.
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Cowen has been on the ice for 21 goals against, the save percentage while he has been on the ice has been .880. If the Senators goalies could have played how they regularly played with Cowen on the ice he would have only been on the ice for 12-13 goals which would be 8-9 less goals then he has been on the ice for. This may lead you to believe that Cowen is a bad defenseman, this is simply not true.
Cowen has not been the worst defenseman on the Senators in terms of Five on Five Corsi%. The only player who has aided the Senators in generating more Corsi for than against has been Patrick Weircioch. Wiercioch has had the smallest sample size of data playing in only fifteen games. Regardless, Cowen is third on the team with a 47.8 Corsi%. Why was he been punished with so many scratches? Why has Chris Phillips play time not been altered? Phillips and Eric Gryba have the worst Corsi Percentages on the team.
| Name | CF% |
| CHRIS PHILLIPS | 44.5 |
| ERIC GRYBA | 45.2 |
| MARK BOROWIECKI | 47.1 |
| CODY CECI | 47.1 |
| JARED COWEN | 47.8 |
| ERIK KARLSSON | 49.2 |
| PATRICK WIERCIOCH | 52.4 |
Cowen has the third best number when you compare Shots For with Shots Against at 45.3%. The shooting statistics in both a traditional sense, as well as a Corsi sense, display that Cowen has been the victim of bad luck. Cowen has been productive in other elements of the Senators defensive game. Cowen is 4th on the team in blocked shots per game and 2nd on the team in hits per game.
The whole Senators team has been bad on the defensive side of the puck this season. He has not been the sole problem. I believe it was unfair to sit him as many times as he has sat this season. It will be interesting to see how Cowen and the Senators play under new coach Cameron. Only time will tell!
Advanced stats via http://www.puckalytics.com