In this league, no matter what competition you are facing, coming home with 4 of a possible 6 points on the road has to be considered a success. Rather than bask in the glory, we need to ask the question Why the team was successful and what it has done to gain that measure of success.
Here are, in my opinion, the two biggest reasons why:
1. Special Teams - In terms of percentages, the Senators power play and penalty kill units are in the middle third of the league, and nothing to write home about. However the goal heading into the season was not only to cut down on the power plays against, but to create better differential in overall special teams. One of the biggest factors in the downfall of the Senators last season was the sheer number of times they were shorthanded, but also the vast disparity in time between the power play and penalty kill.
Last season the Senators cumulatively spent 79:13 (almost 4 full periods for those mathematically challenged) more time killing penalties than they did with the man advantage. They were ranked 30th in that dubious category, and that wasn't a good thing.
So far this season, they rank fifth in that net category, spending 8:42 more on the power play than on the PK, and actually have the most positive disparity on the road. The biggest difference - they are drawing more penalties. The Senators have cut the minor penalties down slightly from about 4.6/game to 4/0, but the increased speed of the club with Mike Hoffman leading the way has forced opponents to grab on and commit more fouls and spend more time in the box themselves as a result.
2. Goaltending - It is very early, but despite the fact that the Senators have not cut down the shots on goal (that stat has actually gone up by 1 shot per game), the duo of Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner have simply put themselves in front of more pucks than they did last season. They rank 6th and 7th in the league respectively with SP of .955 and .950 so far this season, as compared with last season's below average .911 (Anderson, 34th) and .913 (Lehner, 28th). The offense has been pretty slow in coming for the Senators, so they will continue to rely heavily on their duo between the pipes. A ~.950 SP is unreasonable to expect over the course of a full season, but as long as they are at or around .925-.930 range the Senators should be in good shape.
Again, it is still way too early to gain any real confidence that the team has turned a corner, especially with so many questions still unanswered and lots of areas for improvement. As the Senators embark on an important stretch where they will play 8 of their next 11 at home, there are some positive trends to watch for and hope they continue on. That begins with the struggling Colorado Avalanche Thursday night for the home opener.