Senators Defenseman Named Third Star of Week

A defenseman for the Ottawa Senators was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week.

Jan 9, 2025; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson (85) skates with the puck in the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images / Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

The good times keep on rolling for the Ottawa Senators, and one of their top defensemen was just recognized by the NHL for his impressive performances last week. Senators defender Jake Sanderson was named the NHL's Third Star for the week ending February 2nd.

Sanderson was a leading player for the Senators during their past week of games, and he was instrumental in helping the team win four straight games. The Sens are ascending the Atlantic Division and Sanderson's on pace to have a career-best season at age 22.

Sanderson played in two games for the Sens during the past week, but managed to score a whopping six points in those contests. Against the Washington Capitals, he scored a goal and added an assist. He followed that up with an outstanding performance against the Minnesota Wild. He scored another goal and added three more assists while skating in at least 22 minutes of ice-time.

So far this year, Sanderson has been excellent, so this latest week wasn't a shock. Through the first 51 games of the season the former first-round pick has four goals, 29 assists and 33 points while averaging 24:20 minutes of ice-time per game, the second-most on the team. Last year was his current offensive-high, scoring 38 points in 79 games. he's on pace to pass that number in the coming weeks and likely lands somewhere between 45 and 50 points in his third full season in the NHL.

This is the first time that the Senators defender has been named one of the NHL's "Three Stars," but it's unlikely to be the last. Joining the Senators defender as the "Three Stars" of the week were Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders goalie, Ilya Sorokin.

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