The Ottawa Senators have taken full advantage of a soft Atlantic Division this season and find themselves in the playoff hunt once more.

While they’ve been getting the usually strong performances from Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson, they have also seen some other players, especially forwards, step up in offensive and defensive situations.

The big question with the Sens, though, is if they are really good enough to hang in the playoff hunt through the second half, or if their first half was too unsustainable to keep up.

Here’s how we’re grading them.

FORWARDS

Mark Stone, A

As far as forwards go, Stone is the biggest driver of offence for the Senators making anyone he plays with better. At 24, he may also be one of the most underrated players in the league and could take a run at 30 goals for the first time this season, and cross 60 points for the third year in a row.

Kyle Turris, A

Passing last season’s personal goal and point totals in 14 fewer games, Turris could take a run at a career-best season on offence if he can stay healthy. As the Senators focus more on defence this season their goals as a team have dropped, and it’s been incredibly important to have a player like Turris keeping his pace up. He gets a decent amount of penalty-kill time too.

Zack Smith, A-minus

It’s hard to knock Smith too much for not being on last season’s 25-goal pace since the shooting percentage (20) he had then was ridiculously high. He is on pace for more points this season, is third among Senators forwards in hits and plays good PK minutes. Smith is a very versatile forward and a pending UFA who is proving to be an important piece of Ottawa’s attack.

Mike Hoffman, A-minus

In the first year of his new contract that pays $5.1 million for the next four seasons, it was crucial for Hoffman to build on last year’s career-best season. He hasn’t disappointed. Hoffman is the offensive leader on the power play up front and could better his goal and point totals from a year ago. Could still improve on the defensive side of the puck.

Ryan Dzingel, B-plus

Quickly becoming a bit of a fan favourite and an exciting player, Dzingel made the roster out of camp and hasn’t given the coaching staff any reason to look back. Considering he’s making just $750,000 against the cap and could chase 20 goals and 40 points, Dzingel is an important depth option who can also play in the top six.

Derick Brassard, B

While his goal and point paces have fallen off from what we’d expect, Brassard is a likely candidate to have a second-half resurgence, considering he’s scored just eight goals on a career-low 7.6 shooting percentage. No one will mistake him as a defence-first player, so until those numbers come up on offence his grade can’t go too high.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, B-minus

No one will confuse the 24-year-old as an offensive player and it’s no surprise that he’s not close to approaching the 19 goals he scored last season — seven of which were short-handed. More like a 10-goal, 30-point player, Pageau is showing as a decent shutdown player and a worthy PK option where he’s third among Sens forwards in average ice time. But a lack of offensive upside means his even-strength time should come down a bit.

Tom Pyatt, C

Coming back from Switzerland for a second crack at the NHL, expectations couldn’t be too high for the defensive specialist 29-year-old. A key part of the Senators’ 11th-ranked penalty kill, Pyatt leads the team’s forwards in blocked shots. While he has been a nice addition for the PK specifically, Pyatt is one of the worst shot drivers on the team, yet averages the sixth-most even-strength ice time in the forward unit.

Chris Neil, C-minus

Look, we all know what Neil is: he’s the muscle the Sens use against their opponents, and a leader of the team’s culture. With barely more than seven minutes of ice time per game, he’s not a crucial part of the team but he plays his specific role rather well. However, with just two points, you have to wonder if it’s worth it.

Chris Kelly, C-minus

The Sens’ forward leader in penalty-kill time, Kelly isn’t a bad option in that situation at all. Like several others on the team though, his offensive game is non-existent. At 36 years old and slowing, the Sens will need to upgrade on Kelly’s position in the lineup next season.

Bobby Ryan, D-minus

It’s definitely been a terrible season for Ryan and at this rate, he’ll fail to reach 20 goals for the second time in four seasons as a Senator. This is your reminder that the team is paying him $7.25 million against the cap through the 2021-22 season. However, the reason he isn’t getting an F is because he’s eighth in all ice time among Sens forwards, and seventh in even-strength ice time behind Pyatt and Pageau. If Ottawa starts sliding in the standings, they’ll have to toss him more opportunity and hope he finds himself again.

Curtis Lazar, F

Missed the start of the season with mono and then played 13 disappointing games with AHL Binghamton where he scored just four points. In 23 games in the NHL this season, Lazar has yet to get on the scoresheet. Brutally disappointing for the 17th overall pick of the 2013 draft.

DEFENCE

Erik Karlsson, A-plus

No surprise here. Karlsson may not quite be on the same points pace as last season, but he’s still a top-30 scorer league wide, top three among blue liners and the heart and soul of the Senators. A generational talent.

Marc Methot, B-plus

The “defensive specialist” on a pairing with Karlsson, Methot isn’t going to wow with shot totals or in how he drives offence, but he is a steady hand on defence and logs a good amount of penalty-kill time.

Chris Wideman, B-plus

In his second season with the Sens, Wideman has seen tremendous improvement and is seeing increased time on the power play. Already approaching last season’s point totals, the 27-year-old making just $800,000 against the cap is a great bargain and key contributor. Deserves more steady minutes.

Dion Phaneuf, C

Do you grade Phaneuf on the outrageous $7 million he makes against the cap per season, or on what kind of player he actually is today? Long gone are the days when Phaneuf would show up on the highlight reel with huge hits and he is a liability on defence. However, he still has a big shot and has already scored more than he did all of last season. On his current pace, he will finish with his highest point total since 2012. At this point, what more are you expecting out of him?

Cody Ceci, C

It’s kind of wild that Ceci is second among Senators defencemen in all-around ice time and first in penalty-kill ice time considering, as Andrew Berkshire pointed out in a recent post, he may actually be showing signs of regression as a 23-year-old. It seems at times that the Sens are trying to force him into a feature role for which he’s not yet ready.

Mark Borowiecki, D

Ottawa’s version of Roman Polak. Borowiecki is a big and physical player but there’s a reason he gets no special-teams time and averages a little more than just 13 minutes a game.

GOALIES

Craig Anderson, A-plus

So much of any Senators success rests on the shoulders of Anderson who has been somewhat inconsistent in his career. But this season, in just 19 games, he’s been excellent with a .924 save percentage and a 12-6-1 record. Considering what he and wife Nicholle are going through, his contribution has been astounding.

Mike Condon, A

Acquired via trade in November, Condon has been a great safety net behind Anderson with a .919 save percentage. He’s a key reason the Sens have stayed afloat and why they have the eighth-best team save percentage at .916. With a subpar backup, Ottawa’s playoff hopes would surely be fading by now.

COACH

Guy Boucher, B-plus

In his first season back in the NHL since 2013, Boucher has got the Senators through a surprisingly successful first half. Billed as more of an offensive coach when he first arrived in the league with the Lightning, he’s actually more of a defence-first guy and this has again been the case in Ottawa. Their goals for are down as they’ve focused more on defending, but you can’t argue with their place in the standings. Some player usage has been questionable, but the fact that they’re second in the division despite being without their starting goalie for long stretches can’t be denied.