The Ottawa Senators have officially hit the halfway point of the season, sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

And not even the most optimistic Sens fan — and I’m including Eugene Melnyk and Spartacat — could have envisioned this type of first half from Ottawa. Here are my 10 observations on this year’s Senators squad at the halfway point:

1. There won’t be any Daniel Alfredsson trade rumors at the deadline. The Sens captain might be in his final year in the NHL, but there is no way he is going anywhere. The Sens are in the thick of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, with Alfredsson playing a major role. Since Dec. 1, he has collected 21 points in 17 games to look every bit like his old self. Alfredsson told me in training camp that if the Sens were in the playoff mix, he wouldn’t dream about a trade to a Stanley Cup contender. The Sens captain would rather squeak into the post-season with Ottawa than go anywhere else.

2. Sending Mika Zibanejad back to Sweden was the right move in October. Forget the fact that Zibanejad scored the gold medal-winning goal for Sweden on Thursday night at the world junior hockey championships. With him out of the picture, it has allowed Zack Smith to gain significant playing time as the Sens’ third-line centre. Smith has responded with 12 goals, becoming one of the club’s best two-way players. Zibanejad’s absence also allowed Bryan Murray to trade for Kyle Turris last month to shore up his club down the middle. When Zibanejad is ready to compete for a spot in the NHL, he could find himself on the wing, considering the centres will likely be Jason Spezza, Turris and Smith.

3. Speaking of Spezza, how many Sens fans would like to trade him now? Less than two years ago, he was booed on his home ice by fans during the playoff series loss to Pittsburgh. Fast forward to today and Spezza has regained his status as an elite centre — ranking in the top 10 in scoring and rounding out his game to include face-offs and better defensive play. In the 21 games the Sens have won this season, Spezza has 11 goals, 15 assists and a plus-11 rating. In short, he’s the offensive heartbeat of this club.

4. While Spezza is the heartbeat of the club’s offense, Erik Karlsson is still prone to giving the coaching staff heart attacks on some nights. There was a stretch in early December where he was consistently turning over the puck at the wrong time. But let’s be honest – the positives from Karlsson this season far outweigh the drawbacks. He’s on pace for a 66-assist season this year. How rare is that? Since 1995-96, only Nicklas Lidstrom, Raymond Bourque, Brian Leetch and Paul Coffey have hit the 60-assist mark as defensemen. A group of Hall of Famers that Karlsson could soon join. It makes you wonder what his Restricted Free Agent demands might be this summer.

5. Karlsson isn’t the only young defenceman to be making an impression for the Sens this season. Jared Cowen has emerged as a rock-solid young defenseman on the blueline. When Karlsson was struggling with his game in early December, Cowen was routinely logging 28 minutes a night. His performance this year allowed Murray to trade David Rundblad to Phoenix for Kyle Turris, as the Sens GM felt comfortable with his dynamic duo on the back end. It’s probably no coincidence that a few hours after Cowen became the first defenseman in Sens history to record four points and a +4 rating in a game, Murray pulled the trigger on that Rundblad deal.

6. The young defensemen have been terrific for the Sens, but the performance of the veterans might be even more surprising on some levels. During the home opener, both Filip Kuba and Sergei Gonchar were booed by the fans during the player introductions. How have they responded? Gonchar was on pace for a 50-point season before injuries slowed him down — but that is exactly the type of offense they were looking for from him when he was signed in the summer of 2010. And Kuba has responded with a team-best plus-9 rating, while logging more than 23 minutes a night.

7. But it hasn’t been all rosy on the Sens back end. The club has given up a staggering 136 goals — by far the most of any team currently holding down a playoff spot. Craig Anderson played his best game of the season on Thursday night against Tampa, but haven’t received that type of goaltending on a consistent basis. It’s reflected in Anderson’s stats: In his 19 wins, he has a 2.14 GAA and a .929 save percentage. In his 15 losses, he has a 4.47 GAA and a .867 save percentage. Anderson has proven he can be solid when he gets on a roll and Sens fans can hope that he’s finding his game at the right time.

8. The Sens have been able to overcome a lot of their defensive shortcomings this season, thanks in large part to their offensive firepower. This might be the most surprising aspect of the Sens this season, considering they finished 29th in scoring last season. Only three teams in the Eastern Conference have scored more goals than Ottawa – who have managed to score more than Pittsburgh and Washington. Remember, this is the team that took a flyer on Nikita Filatov in the summer because they weren’t sure where their goals were coming from. But at the halfway point of the season, they have five players — Spezza, Alfredsson, Michalek, Smith and Foligno — on pace for 20 goals this season. Last year, only Jason Spezza cracked the 20-goal plateau.

9. It’s not only how often the Sens are scoring, but more importantly, when they are scoring. The club has scored 56 goals in the third period — the most out of any team in the NHL. They have routinely staged dramatic late-game comebacks this season, winning five games when trailing heading into the third period. In the past week alone, they’ve erased 2-0 and 3-0 deficits against New Jersey and Calgary respectively. This team is playing with a confidence that we haven’t seen around here since the Stanley Cup run in 2007.

10. Finally, most of that confidence can be attributed to new head coach Paul MacLean. When the club stumbled out of the gates with just one win in six games, most analysts figured that the rookie head coach was in for a long season. But the players have bought into MacLean’s system and he has given everyone on the team a legitimate role. Kevin Dineen is probably the coach of the year at the halfway point for the job he’s done in Florida, but MacLean is definitely in the Jack Adams mix right now. And considering the coaching carousel that has been in full swing here in Ottawa over the past four years, perhaps this is the most significant storyline from the first half of the season.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — The jobs of Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray and head coach Cory Clouston are safe until the end of the season, but the same can’t be said for some of the players on the struggling club.

After getting a vote of confidence from owner Eugene Melnyk over the weekend, Murray says the underachieving squad can’t have any doubts about who’s steering the ship for the rest of this disappointing season.

"I’ve said some of (the players) complain about little things that are out of their control, they feel they have an excuse the odd night," Murray told a media gathering Monday. "They’re stuck with us, like it or not, they’re with us for the balance."

"They can listen and conform to the coach, or they can sit on the sidelines."

Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson says it’s a plus to have rumours of imminent firings put to bed.

"It’s kind of good to know what to expect and I think the coaching staff probably feels that way, too," Alfredsson said. "We can just focus on trying to improve and go in the right direction."

Veteran defenceman Chris Phillips, whose name has surfaced in trade rumours, says the players’ focus remains on the ice, regardless of front-office talk.

"Nothing changes for us. We’re going out on the ice and trying to win games," Phillips said. "We haven’t done a great job of that this year, but that focus doesn’t change."

The Senators suffered a 6-2 loss at Philadelphia on Thursday night, followed by a 7-1 pasting at home to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. Those defeats left Ottawa (17-25-7) in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, 27th overall and likely out of the playoffs for the second time in the past three seasons.

That fuelled speculation with the all-star break coming, that Murray and/or Clouston. Both men are out of contract at the end of the season.

But with the air now cleared, Murray says how the team performs in its final 33 games will go a long way in determining who sticks around.

"I think it’s the same as always. We’re just going to try to win. I know there’s some people that think otherwise," Murray said. "Being competitive down the stretch, I think for a lot of our guys, is going to be very important."

Although further speculation has Murray linked with a move into a consultant’s role with the team when his current deal expires, he took issue with reports of his early professional demise.

"I know as a normal general manager, I hope to retain my job at the end of the year," Murray said. "I’m not sure why everybody’s in such a hurry to get me out of here, but if that’s the way it is, that’s the way it is."

Likewise, Clouston will see out the season despite repeated suggestions that he will be fired and Murray, a long-time coach, would go behind the bench to finish the schedule.

"My job hasn’t changed. I’m going to do everything I possibly can to win (Tuesday’s home game against Buffalo)," Clouston said. "And the players, basically what they need to do is to go out there and just execute and perform to the levels that they can.

"I’m not going to say (the rumours) didn’t hurt," he added. "It shouldn’t take the comment, a statement from our owner, to make us play better."

With an aging and underachieving roster, Melnyk stated the Senators will undergo a rebuild during the off-season. With the trade deadline approaching on Feb. 28 and the team likely to finish in lottery spot for June’s NHL entry draft, there’s hope for the future.

Murray intends on being part of Melnyk’s project, but hasn’t written off this season just yet.

"We’re going to play with some pride and compete every night," he said. "We are definitely going to try in every game, better than we did in a couple of games lately."

The Senators have several player contracts expiring after the season, including bigger-money deals with under-performing forward Alex Kovalev and oft-injured goaltender Pascal Leclaire that will free up plenty of salary cap space.

More importantly, Murray says with the young players developing in the AHL, junior and in Europe, a return to the playoffs won’t be far off.

"I don’t think we’re very far away from being a good hockey team," Murray said. "Obviously, you have to make some changes when you perform like we did, but I think it’s one year. I think we can back as a real competitive team real quick."

Questions have also arisen about Murray’s involvement in helping with any rebuilding project. If he is on his way out, how much allowance will he have in making decisions, particularly as the trade deadline approaches?

Murray insists he won’t be a lame duck GM and his hands won’t be tied, giving an indication he is part of the team’s future plans.

"In my conversations, I have the ability to be a general manager and I’ll try to continue to be that and, despite some people, I will do the best I can," Murray said.