-706 in shots, -114 in goals.

I'd say they earned that #1 pick.

As was telegraphed by Bob McKenzie and Seth Jones earlier in the week, came this news yesterday...

"The Ottawa Senators announced today the club has signed free agent defenceman Troy Rutkowski to a three-year entry-level contract. Rutkowski is currently playing in his fifth season with the Portland Winterhawks, the Western Hockey League’s top-ranked team."

Rutkowski is an interesting case, drafted by Colorado 137th overall in 2010, the Avalanche chose not to sign him and relinquished his rights. He re-entered the draft last year, and was passed over, making him a free agent at the age of 20.

So what kind of player is Ottawa getting here? Well he's 6'2, 199, a right shot, a team captain, and a consistent offensive performer:

Though it should be said that Portland has been stacked with talent over this span so he isn't exactly playing with nobodies here. The concerns with his game seem to hinge on his ability to skate:

.@tsnbobmckenzie saying OTT to sign Rutkowski. 2nd in D scoring in the WHL. Puck mover with a cannon of a shot, has struggled with skating.

— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) March 13, 2013

At the least this acquisition brings talent to the organization that only costs money, which should be applauded. The Winterhawks are up there among Memorial Cup favourites so it's somewhat doubtful we'll see Troy in Binghamton anytime soon.

Anyone who watched Shane Prince on some of the high-powered 67's teams of past years knew he was skilled. Although some were always going to question just who was driving whose point totals. Now I can't say I was ever a 67's season ticket holder, but I did catch a few games when Prince was on the team, and personally I was always impressed - partcularly by how hard on the puck he could be, despite being a small guy...oh and he can shoot it.

Coming off seasons of 88 and 90 points may have unfairily raised expectations for his rookie AHL campaign. With a lockout in full effect Binghamton was loaded for bear when training camp opened last September. Between veterans and players who would have been at Ottawa's camp, the opportunity for minutes was going to be extremely competitive. And while Prince is a well regarded and promising prospect in Ottawa's system your Silfverberg's and Zibanejad's can trump that.

Naturally it took him some time to find his way at the professional level. But with half the Bingo roster in Ottawa (more or less *sigh*), Prince is getting more minutes, and he seems to be making the most of it:

The Senators have acquired forward Matt Kassian from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 2014 6th round draft pick. The 6'5, 247 pound left winger is 26 years old, and has played just 28 games in his NHL career, none of which this season, and is a career 0.1 PPG in the AHL. 

In other words, he is what you might call a "goon". The kind of player Melnyk has railed against for years, even going so far as to state he had given Murray a mandate not to sign them. Quite the mandate indeed. Yep, the front office is clearly listening very closlely to what Eugene has to say on hockey matters (which frankly is the way it should be).

Bob McKenzie talked about the Sens interest in bringing in "toughness" on TSN last week. And today's move would seem to be a pure reactionary move to Dizzy being KO'ed...and everyone knows "reactionary" moves are the best kind a GM can make.

I am not a fan of this move, even though a 6th round pick for next season's draft is not much to give up. According to Oilers blog Copper & Blue, a team with a pick between 101 and 200th overall has about a 4% chance of drafting a top player (ie a Top 5 forward or Top 3 defenceman on a team).

During the 4th round of the shootout in last night's game, friend of the blog Kaspars Daugavins decided to try something a little different, by pressing the toe of his stick on top of the puck before executing a 360° spin towards the right post. Unfortunately, Rask made a great save, and stopped DOGMAN'S attempt on the goal line with his left pad. To make things worse, David Krejci, Boston's next shooter, scored on Robin Lehner to win it for Boston.

Last season, the Sens struggled defensively, giving up the 6th most goals against, and 2nd most shots against in the league. Fortunately, they had the 4th best offense, allowing them to slip into the playoffs as the 8th seed. Now things have changed completely; they currently sit 1st in goals against, but are 27th in goals for. To boot, the Sens lead the league in shots for, and are the 2nd worst in shots against.

So what has caused this improvement in goals againt? The easy explanation would be goaltending, but one could argue the defence has been limiting shot quality more than they were last season.

Thanks to this fancy website, we’re able to look at shot distances to see whether the Sens are playing better defencively, or are just benefitting from good goaltending. (NOTE: the NHL's shot location data has some issues, so just keep that in mind.)