Who’s Hot, Who’s Not: Calgary Flames & Ottawa Senators

As the Flames and Ottawa Senators meet up for the first time this season and play each other four times in a row, we’re taking a look at who’s the hottest player on each squad and who could use a little pick me up to get their mojo working again. Here’s Who’s Hot & Who’s Not.

Hot

Calgary Flames: David Rittich

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There’s not hotter player on the Flames right now than David Rittich. An upper body injury to Jacob Markstrom opened the door for Rittich to get in the crease and he’s been nothing short of brilliant. In two games against the Maple Leafs Rittich faced 73 total shots and stopped 71 of them. That’s a .972% against the top scoring team in the league. There’s a good chance he’ll see some significant action in this series.

Ottawa Senators: Brady Tkachuk

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Yeah, shocker. Tkachuk is the best player on a struggling Ottawa squad and he’s been carrying the team lately. He has six points in his last five games and has four of the team’s last 12 goals. He also leads the team in goals, points and penalty minutes. Tkachuk has eight points in twelve games this month and in Ottawa’s six wins, he has five goals and four assists.

Not

Calgary Flames: Josh Leivo

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Leivo started the season playing along side Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Since then he’s been relegated to the fourth line and has basically been useless. He has only two points in 17 games so far this season and has seen less than nine minutes of ice time COMBINED in the last two games.

Ottawa Senators: Chris Tierney

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February hasn’t been kind to the Tierney and the Sens. In 12 games this month the centre has only four assists and is averaging less than a shot per game (0.83). He’s also found himself a -6 for the month, though there aren’t many on team on the plus side of the ledger.