Cheech who?

Jonathan Cheechoo seems to have turned things around in the last 3 games, having played his best hockey as an Ottawa Senator while being one of the team’s most effective players.  Playing on the third line with Chris Kelly and Jarkko Ruutu, Cheechoo has looked a lot more energized than he has for most of the rest of the season and has helped the line create a plethora of chances using a strong forecheck.  He still looks slow and a little rough around the edges but his improved play has been a nice surprise.  It may be a little early to consider Cheechoo’s early season funk over, but if he keeps playing like he has in the past three games then he may start to earn more ice time, especially with the man advantage.

Cheechoo won’t say it publicly but I suspect that he is playing with an injury or two as he has been plagued with poor health in the last couple of years.  Maybe he has finally kicked the injury bug and is starting to feel more comfortable on the ice because it sure looks that way of late.  Either way, Cheechoo’s improved play is good news for the Sens and if he can eventually regain anywhere close to the form that saw him score 56 goals four seasons ago then the Sens will have three legitimate scoring lines.  If you consider that Jason Spezza, Alex Kovalev and Cheechoo have a combined 11 goals so far this season, it would be a pretty big accomplishment for the team to boast three scoring lines and once they get Pascal Leclaire back from injury, they should be in decent shape to make a run at a playoff spot.