"Nobody expected us to be where we are," Melnyk told the Sun. "We're 27-17-6, when people thought we'd be 17-27-6. We went through a rebuild and it was very, very, very tough.

"I keep a close eye on the games that we have in hand, and we've just got to keep looking forward and just keep winning because it's so tight. You lose a game and you can drop one or two spots, so you've got to keep playing hard. I'm just delighted to see where we're at in a rebuild."

Although the Senators would like to add a tough defenseman and a two-way forward, GM Bryan Murray isn't expected to pull the trigger on a blockbuster.

"(Dealing) would come with one caveat. Let's not lose focus of what our job is: That's to rebuild," said Melnyk. "The deal we made for Kyle Turris was more of an anomaly than anything else because we did give up a piece of our future and we weren't going to be competitive without a second-line centre.

"We had to give something up. You tell me: Unless there is an injury here, I can't see a void. If it isn't broken, don't try to fix it. Even if we lose a couple in a row, it's not the end of the world. We need to just keep grinding away. The ones that will succeed in the league, are the ones left standing."

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