TORONTO - A stretch of six wins in eight games has the Ottawa Senators achingly close to a playoff spot. And this recent run of success also has general manager Bryan Murray re-thinking his plans for the near future with the March 5 trade deadline not too far away. Murray, who on Monday agreed to a contract extension through the 2015-16 season, said his team probably needs another piece — most likely a forward — to make a run this spring. Through Sundays games, the Senators sat two points back of the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings, who hold the Eastern Conferences two wild-card spots. "Just watching the progress in the last month and a little bit, I think that the objective now is certainly more than it was a month before," Murray said on a conference call. "We are available to make a deal." As an example, Murray pointed to the July 5 trade with the Anaheim Ducks that landed the Senators Bobby Ryan. Ottawa gave up young forward Jakob Silfverberg and prospect Stefan Noesen to get the winger who filled a void left by Daniel Alfredssons departure. Again, the Senators would be willing to trade from their position of youth in the organization. "We do have a number of players that probably are deserving of playing some games or playing in the NHL that may not get a chance because of our numbers up here that we would talk to teams about for a more veteran-type player," Murray said. Earlier in the season, Murray expressed a desire to upgrade his teams mobility on the blue-line and talked to "a number of teams" about a puck-moving defenceman. That need has been eased by the recall of 20-year-old rookie Cody Ceci, who has been a mainstay since making his debut in mid-December. "Hes young, but we cant get him out of the lineup now that weve brought him up from Binghamton," Murray said. "Hes been real good for us, real solid for us." Like a lot of teams, Murray said the Senators could use a forward who could help in the scoring department or add a physical element. "Either-or, and I think that would address a need on our hockey team.," he said. Perhaps physicality and defensive responsibility should be priorities. The Senators have given up 146 goals in 46 games, which is third-worst in the league. No matter the area of improvement, Murray has limits on how much hell draw from Ottawas prospect pool. Blue-chip centre Curtis Lazar, last years first-round pick, had three goals and four assists for Canada during the world junior championship and is, at least for now, considered untouchable. "Were not moving Curtis Lazar, I can tell you at this point in time," Murray said. "We would make the right common-sense trades if there was something there without robbing what would be our future." The Senators scouting staff is expected to meet soon to draw up a list of trade-deadline targets. "We hope to have kind of an objective by the trading deadline, by the Olympic break, whatever the case may be, and then well see where we go," Murray said. The playoffs appear to be back as the most immediate goal. Murray reiterated that "there are no guarantees in this business," and owner Eugene Melnyk understands that specifically applies to the post-season. "Once the playoffs start, as we all know, anything goes," Melnyk said. "We have to get there first, and then after that, we just cross our fingers and hope for the best." — Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at @SWhyno. Scarpe Nike Scontatissime . Asdrubal Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Michael Brantley also homered and the Indians beat the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins 9-4 Thursday for their first three-game winning streak this season. Air Max 95 Outlet .com) - The 2014 Holiday Bowl is the first postseason venture pitting a pair of ranked foes against each other, as No. https://www.scontatescarpeoutlet.it/scar...tate-c2366.html. LeBron James leads the Miami Heat in a quest for three consecutive championship titles, while Tim Duncan looks to add his fifth ring with the San Antonio Spurs when the series tips off with Game 1: Miami @ San Antonio on Thursday, June 5 at 9 p. Scarpe Nike Outlet .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season. Air Max 270 Scontatissime . TSNs Farhan Lalji reports the Edmonton Eskimos non-import DT has a workout scheduled with an NFL team next week and isnt expected to sign a deal with any team until then.The news that Bobby Ryan is undergoing season-ending surgery did not come as a complete surprise. Earlier this week, head coach Paul MacLean confirmed that Ryan had been dealing with a nagging injury since November – our first tangible clue that the winger has not been 100 per cent healthy all season. But for the past few weeks, the whispers had been growing louder and louder that Ryan was playing hurt. When the club returned to practice after the Olympic break, the winger took a couple of maintenance days that raised a few eyebrows. Now that the club has confirmed he was playing for the past four months with a sports hernia injury, it forces us to reassess our opinion of Ryans first season in Ottawa. In a strange twist, every player involved in the massive Ducks-Senators trade from last summer suffered a significant injury this season. Jakob Silfverberg had a broken hand, Stefan Noesen tore the ACL in his knee and now Ryan is done with the sports hernia injury. (The Ducks may want to order some bubble wrap to protect their first round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft that they will receive from Ottawa). When he was famously left off the Team USA roster for the Olympics, many suggested that Ryan was crushed by the bad news and went into a prolonged slump. He scored just two goals in 12 games in the month of January and looked like a shadow of himself at times. Certainly, the Team USA snub hurt him on a personal level, but its rather obvious that the physical pain of a sports hernia injury was the bigger factor for his declining numbers. Ryans limited ice time was also a source of controversy in this market, as fans and media openly questioned MacLeans deployment of his No. 1 sniper. He was taken off a unit with Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur and was given third-line minutes instead. When the Sens were swept in Alberta earlier this month, Ryan played fewer than 15 minutes on each night – causing some to wonder aloud if there was a rift between star player and coach. In reality, the reduced ice time was likely the result of his nagging injury. In a statement to the media on Thursday, general manager Bryan Murray indicated that Ryan tried to play through the injury and doesnt appear to be concerned about how he was used by MacLean. "I know there were some times in games that he felt like he couldnt contribute very muchh but he stayed on the ice as required by the coaching staff and tried very hard to be a big factor for our team," Murray said.dddddddddddd "I think he was and obviously we like that kind of person and want to treat him right in return." If you look at Ryans on-ice production from this season (time on ice to produce a point), you can see a significant drop-off once the calendar flipped to December: Month Time on ice/point October 20:32 November 16:17 December 24:42 January 33:10 February 46:40 March 41:47 Ryans struggles were a red flag for many Ottawa fans, who were concerned about his lack of productivity and compete level down the stretch. With a contract set to expire at the end of next season, there were more than a few fans who were suggesting it was time to move on from the 26-year-old winger. But now that we have a clear picture of Ryans health, its a little more accurate to say that his first season was not a complete disaster. The fact that he led this team in goal-scoring with 23 despite the injury is fairly impressive. Considering the recovery time from this injury is about six weeks, GM Bryan Murray says there is every reason to believe that Ryan will come into training camp next season ready to return to his 30-goal form. "Well, he certainly started very, very well. He shoots the puck awfully well, he scored some goals, his line obviously carried the team early on. He was a big part of that," Murray said. "I think after the hernia started to get aggravated a little bit, he seemed to shoot the puck a bit less. Overall, very happy and satisfied with his overall play and we know hell be a real contributor going forward." That last comment from the general manager seems like the one that carries the most weight moving into this summer. Nobody is certain if the Sens will lock up Ryan with a long-term extension in the coming months, but one thing is clear: this organization hasnt soured on him after a disappointing season in which he played hurt. ' ' '