Ottawa Senators' western week features steadily rising degree of difficulty

Had you told the Ottawa Senators they'd have two points in their first two games without their captain and star defenceman, they might not have been happy about it, but they would have taken it.

After the first week, which began with high hopes that Erik Karlsson might be back in the lineup shortly and ended with news he wasn't even making the trip out West to face the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers, that's exactly where they find themselves.

Well, holding the fort time is over. With a game against perhaps the league's worst team Tuesday night, the Senators (0-0-2) need to put a couple of points in the bank before the level of competition ramps up again as we approach…