The Ottawa Senators are hoping Filly does rebounds. They've recalled forward Nikita Filatov from the AHL, where he put up 12 points in 15 games. Meanwhile, Stephane Da Costa's NHL run came to an end, for now. He's been sent down to rediscover the scoring touch that made him such a star at Merrimack College.
Both players are scorers who haven't scored for the Senators. Da Costa got a good long look, playing in all 22 games, logging just 5 points for the Sens. His skill and character are there but he needs to find a way to get stronger and feistier.
This may be the Senators' last look at Filatov. His agent has made it pretty clear that his client would rather be in the KHL if the Sens have no plans for him in the NHL. So Filatov figures to get a good long audition with quality minutes this time. So it's sink or swim. No tomorrow. All the standard cliches apply.
The Sens want him to do two things. Work harder and produce offence. If he can do at least one of those things, preferably the offence, he'll be worth keeping. However, his KHL threats have me very skeptical that he'll ever have an NHL work ethic to offer.
