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Senators, Predators heading in opposite directions since trade

Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today Sports

A lot can happen in a month.

On Nov. 5, the Ottawa Senators completed a three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators to bring Matt Duchene to the Canadian capital.

The hope was that Duchene could provide an upgrade on Kyle Turris, who headed to Nashville as part of the trade, and give the Senators a top-flight center and potentially the missing piece to a roster with Stanley Cup aspirations.

Five days after his acquisition, Duchene suited up for his first game with the Senators, debuting against his former club.

Duchene was held pointless in back-to-back games against the Avalanche, a streak which extended to nine before he picked up a point against the New York Islanders late last month. In all, Duchene has tallied two goals and two assists since joining the Senators.

Meanwhile, it's been quite the opposite for Turris, whose production has seen an uptick in the Music City, where he is just shy of a point-per-game pace with the Predators.

Since adding Turris, no team has outperformed the Predators, as Nashville has secured a 10-2-2 record and 22 points since the trade. Perhaps more impressive is the Predators' plus-12 goal differential, which trails only the Los Angeles Kings for the NHL's best showing.

In the same time frame, the Senators stand ahead of only the Sabres, having won just three of 14 games, securing only eight points, and a minus-25 goal differential that makes even Buffalo blush.

At the time of the deal, there was little to separate the Predators and Senators. The two teams sat middle-of-the-pack league-wide, as Nashville had collected 18 points in 15 games, while Ottawa obtained 17 points in 14 outings. Ottawa was in a playoff position. Nashville was just outside.

The biggest change? Point to the power play. Firing at 33 percent on the man advantage, the Predators own the NHL's best power play since adding Turris, while the Senators' performance when up a skater has sunk from 12th to 29th.

Only fellow forward Bobby Ryan saw more time on the Sens' power play when Turris was around. Duchene has since filled those minutes, but the production hasn't followed, as he's picked up just two points with the extra man.

Mired in a four-game losing skid, and having won just once in their last 12, time is running short to save Ottawa's season. At the other end of the spectrum, Nashville appears to have added the true missing piece up the middle, as Turris and the Predators look primed for another Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

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