Post-Game Talk: Boston @ Ottawa, Sunday 5:00 PM on TSN

[maclean]

Thanks Jukey. Was your name always Jukey?

If you mouseover someone's username you can see their previous ones

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

With the win Ottawa moves past Montreal, now with fourth best record in Division.

Detroit Red Wings 0.6142
Florida Panthers 0.6111
Boston Bruins 0.600
Ottawa Senators 0.5833
Montréal Canadiens 0.581
Tampa Bay Lightning 0.5416
Buffalo Sabres 0.4857
Toronto Maple Leafs 0.4852

 

[Larionov]

I'll say this - it's nice to be in a position where we are able to give style points to our wins. I can remember a time when we used to try to see the silver lining in our losses, so this is progress.

I thought the shots on goal last night were somewhat misleading. Sure, Andy was rock solid, but a fair number of Bruins shots were from the perimeter, and Andy is going to stop those almost every time. Besides, you need great goaltending to win in this league. We shouldn't be apologizing for winning games where we were outshot - we should celebrate it. Good teams find a way to win those ones. It wasn't too long ago that we were that team out shooting our opponents but losing. Give me a greasy win like last night over a noble loss any day of the week.

 

[Back in Black]

This was a 3-0 game. That goal review was bull****. There was never a shot of the puck clearly going over the red line.

Guarantee if that was Rassk's net, the NHL wouldn’t have called it a goal, simply because the NHL is following Boston to the Winter Classic.

Regardless, great win for Ottawa!

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

This was a 3-0 game. That goal review was bull****. There was never a shot of the puck clearly going over the red line.

Guarantee if that was Rassk's net, the NHL wouldn’t have called it a goal, simply because the NHL is following Boston to the Winter Classic.

Regardless, great win for Ottawa!

Agreed. From what I saw, the puck was still touching the goal line...no white in between.

Still, a win is a win. I hope the hockey gods have it in their ledger they owe us a goal.

 

[Xspyrit]

I still haven't finished watching the game... 3 non-calls in the 2nd period...

On Stone and McCormick and Bruins both times got a PP shortly after... IIRC, it was Stone again towards the end of the period

And the non-calls continue in the 3rd... wow

 

[Asquaredx2]

Was at the game. Andy was great. Our d-men were not. With Ceci out I think we basically had 4 guys who would be no better than a #6 on a cup winner. We were badly out shot and routinely held in the zone by a team that played the previous night, although I can allow for some rust out of the break (then again, the panther game).

In spite of this our forwards were able to capitalize on some chances and we walked away with two divisional points. This forward group continues to be among the best in the league despite missing MacArthur, Michalek and Lazar.

All that to say that if we go out and add another forward instead of addressing a problem that has been glaring for years on the blue line I think I'm going to scream. No other Sens defenceman has put up 40 points in a season (which EK now has in 36 games) since Karlsson joined the team.

I think given the promise shown by our two first rounders in 2015 that we are in a position where we can move some young assets in pursuit of an LHD. And I think it would be a kind of rising tide lifts all boats situation in which other players would appear more valuable once the team started performing better. But obviously the issue is finding a willing trade partner.

 

[SpezDispenser]

Is Cowen legitimately done? He looks lost out there, it's scary.

 

[Xspyrit]

Another lazy penalty by Neil who can't keep up. And what happened to Zib? Last year he took over some games this year he gets garbage assists and looks like a passenger most of the time. Frustrating.

Which is weird to hear because Latendresse was saying he was surprised by Neil, how he lost weight to keep up and how well he was playing his role. You could say that he is biased but that wouldn't be knowing Latendresse as an analyst, he pretty much tells it the way it is. Example, he was also talking Smith being misused on the 1st line (well this is obvious as he is a bottom-6 player) and how the Sens give up too many shots, miss their assignements and don't work hard enough to retrieve the puck.

I know I'm alone, but I think Chiasson is doing fine and deserves to be in the top-6 more than Smith.

Actually no, it would make Smith more effective in the bottom-6 where he belongs. Chiasson works hard and would actually have a chance to produce more with more skilled players.

31-15 shots for the Bruins and they played less than 24hrs ago. How is that possible?

http://war-on-ice.com/game5.html?seasongcode=2015201620526

On 32 shots at ES, only 5 were considered good scoring chances... And even then, it doesn't mean all those chances were shots in the first place. Even including special units, even if the Bruins had 39 shots, only 8 good scoring chances.

The book on the Sens is to throw everything possible at the net, but IMO that's stupid with Anderson as it makes him better, get him into the game quickly (I'm the same as an amateur goalie too). It worked very well against Lehner though.

Shots count sucks but I'm more concerned offensively lately, they aren't producing as much offense as they used too... Ok injuries play a role in this but still... I hope they can start playing more like the second part of last season.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

The shot counts this game didnt bother me, because I noticed as well so many were from the perimeter.

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

The shot counts this game didnt bother me, because I noticed as well so many were from the perimeter.

Yeah it didn't feel like some of the other games. I actually felt as though we were at least getting chances and going back and forth a bit.

While the game wasn't the best, I thought it was a big improvement on what we've been seeing lately

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Yeah it didn't feel like some of the other games. I actually felt as though we were at least getting chances and going back and forth a bit.

While the game wasn't the best, I thought it was a big improvement on what we've been seeing lately

I got this impression as well, but the War on Ice report indicates it was not the case. 5 on 5 Scoring chances for were 21-12 for Boston and Dangerous Scoring chances for were 5-3.

Some other fun stats: Turris and Stone had good games. CF% of 52.5 and 51.3 respectively. Their most common line mate in Zack Smith was CF% 43.6. Stone and Turris were notably worse when Smith was on the ice.

Wiercoch had the best CF% of all our D.

David Dziurzynskis' dreadful Corsi numbers continue. CF% of 13.3 last night.

We lost a lot of face offs. 33-20. Ouch. Talbot, Bergeron, Spooner and Krejci took it to our Cs.

 

[God Says No]

I think the win is clouding your view of the game. This was not a good game for the Sens. We routinely got stuck in our zone, while had only a handful of such occurrences in the BOS zone. Although it's true that there were a lot of shots from the outside, there were far too many high scoring chances. It's the same formula.

- Andy saves our bacon
- our skilled players get a couple goals against the run of play or our PP helps out

This team is broken. Either it gets fixed by a new system or by new players.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

I think the win is clouding your view of the game. This was not a good game for the Sens. We routinely got stuck in our zone, while had only a handful of such occurrences in the BOS zone. Although it's true that there were a lot of shots from the outside, there were far too many high scoring chances. It's the same formula.

- Andy saves our bacon
- our skilled players get a couple goals against the run of play or our PP helps out

This team is broken. Either it gets fixed by a new system or by new players.

Its the same story of most our wins. The bottom part of the line up needs fixing, and we need a coach to deploy players in ways in which they can succeed. Its eerily similar to last year. The difference is we've had Methot for the early part of the year which has allowed Karlsson to play at a Hart level.

 

[sens613]

Its the same story of most our wins. The bottom part of the line up needs fixing, and we need a coach to deploy players in ways in which they can succeed. Its eerily similar to last year. The difference is we've had Methot for the early part of the year which has allowed Karlsson to play at a Hart level.

I think a healthy MacArthur and michalek will solve a lot of out problems on offense. Pushing players to lesser roles where they can play weaker competition.

Our defense on the other hand.....

 

[God Says No]

Its the same story of most our wins. The bottom part of the line up needs fixing, and we need a coach to deploy players in ways in which they can succeed. Its eerily similar to last year. The difference is we've had Methot for the early part of the year which has allowed Karlsson to play at a Hart level.

Yeah, we're back to the MacLean years.

The other concerning thing that I forgot to mention is that PP has slowed down. I think due to the fact that Hoffman was taken off the unit and Smith has been inserted. Right now we have Karlsson, Turris and Ryan as the umbrella. It used to be Hoffman, Karlsson and Ryan. That worked A LOT better as we had 3 options, including one left handed one.

If the PP falters, we are not good enough 5 on 5 with the lines as they are constructed right now. The only way we will win now, is if Andy plays amazingly. Which he has for the most part.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

I think a healthy MacArthur and michalek will solve a lot of out problems on offense. Pushing players to lesser roles where they can play weaker competition.

Our defense on the other hand.....

Michalek, sure. He'll be back soonish. MacArthur on the other hand, we don't know if he'll ever be back. We need both to ice a NHL level bottom 6. Gotta plan for life after Mac at this point, with what we know about concussions.

The D will partially be solved by icing a better forward group. Defending is done by 5 man units, not just two guys on the back. It won't make us into a top contender overnight but it'll ease the pressure on our weaker defenders when our forwards can skate at a NHL level. Right now Neil, Dziurzynski and Smith are all way out of their depth in their current roles and hurt the two way abilities of those lines with poor skating and puck skills. An argument could be made for Chiasson but at least he can keep up.

The D needs one more guy for the second pair, but we also don't know much about how long Ceci is gone.

 

[bert]

They need to stop calling up plugs and playing garbage players so much. That would be an easy fix. The big stuff is getting a competant NHL coach and another top 4 d man.

Its frustrating as a fan because this teams top end talent is elite but everything else around it is aweful.

Its harder to find elite talent its easier to replace bottom level players.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I think the win is clouding your view of the game. This was not a good game for the Sens. We routinely got stuck in our zone, while had only a handful of such occurrences in the BOS zone. Although it's true that there were a lot of shots from the outside, there were far too many high scoring chances. It's the same formula.

- Andy saves our bacon
- our skilled players get a couple goals against the run of play or our PP helps out

This team is broken. Either it gets fixed by a new system or by new players.

I don't think it is because a lot of our other wins I felt it was Andy saving the day and terrible defense. I thought this game was better than what we mostly look like. Keep in mind, better than what we mostly look like is the key word.

I guess the nice thing is that the NHL is just full of mediocrity so we're hanging right with everyone else.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Team runs around alot in the d zone. Players arent in position to intercept passes or block shots often enough

 

[sens613]

Michalek, sure. He'll be back soonish. MacArthur on the other hand, we don't know if he'll ever be back. We need both to ice a NHL level bottom 6. Gotta plan for life after Mac at this point, with what we know about concussions.

The D will partially be solved by icing a better forward group. Defending is done by 5 man units, not just two guys on the back. It won't make us into a top contender overnight but it'll ease the pressure on our weaker defenders when our forwards can skate at a NHL level. Right now Neil, Dziurzynski and Smith are all way out of their depth in their current roles and hurt the two way abilities of those lines with poor skating and puck skills. An argument could be made for Chiasson but at least he can keep up.

The D needs one more guy for the second pair, but we also don't know much about how long Ceci is gone.

I am assuming Mac is coming back although sens brass would obviously know more about that then me. If they expect him back and mm9 then I am comfortable with our forwards for this season and hope we can improve it during the off season with expiring contracts opening room.

If we are only going to make one move ( I rather one larger scale move then 2 or more tweaks) I rather use our trading chips on a d man who can help for at least this year and 1 or 2 more or a guy willing to resign.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

The shot counts this game didnt bother me, because I noticed as well so many were from the perimeter.

Tbh i feel this is how it has been for half the games where we've been badly outshot. We allow a lottttttttt of perimeter shots and only half of those games do we really get outchances in close.

Plus, Anderson thrives from high shot total. I dont think people understand how key this is to keeping Anderson sharp and aware all game.

I prefer a 30-15 shot game where most their shots from perimeter than a 20-20 shot game where half their shots from perimeter too but Anderson still isnt seeing as much pucks.

Team runs around alot in the d zone. Players arent in position to intercept passes or block shots often enough

It's cause guys like Cowen and Wier dont retrieve the puck quicker and transition it to our forwards which then forces our wingers to come and help and mayhem ensues.

 

[Rodzilla]

Which is weird to hear because Latendresse was saying he was surprised by Neil, how he lost weight to keep up and how well he was playing his role. You could say that he is biased but that wouldn't be knowing Latendresse as an analyst, he pretty much tells it the way it is. Example, he was also talking Smith being misused on the 1st line (well this is obvious as he is a bottom-6 player) and how the Sens give up too many shots, miss their assignements and don't work hard enough to retrieve the puck.



.

I understand what you're saying, that being said Neil is a step behind most of the time and with all due respect Latendresse was a few steps behind too. I have a lot of respect for Neil but man he takes some lazy penalties because he doesn't move his feets. Actually this game he wasn't that bad but I find this team boring to watch lately, I'll never stop watching but the way we get destroyed in our zone and can't stay in theirs is really annoying and Neil is a player causing that problem.

 

[DrEasy]

We're probably not doing this on purpose, but maybe after all it's not a bad strategy to get dominated in our zone (collapsing around the goalie and keeping the opponent to the outside) and score on counter attacks. It seems to work somewhat.

We have the big no-skill defensemen, well-adapted to keeping the opps away from the goal and not venturing far from the D zone, Phillips-style. We have the tiny fast forwards like Pageau and Hoffman who can score on the counter attacks or short-handed. They are helped by Karlsson who can run with them, and by good passers like Stone and Ryan.

So Corsi is not going to like it because it views all shots as equal. But maybe this strategy is sustainable anyway. It takes a good goalie though.

 

[aragorn]

I think the win is clouding your view of the game. This was not a good game for the Sens. We routinely got stuck in our zone, while had only a handful of such occurrences in the BOS zone. Although it's true that there were a lot of shots from the outside, there were far too many high scoring chances. It's the same formula.

- Andy saves our bacon
- our skilled players get a couple goals against the run of play or our PP helps out

This team is broken. Either it gets fixed by a new system or by new players.

With all that has gone on this yr shouldn't we be happy that our team is only 2 pts from 1st place in their division? Wouldn't we have taken this at the beginning of the yr at this time? What is positive is that we all know that they can play better & be better when they all eventually get healthy & able to play. I'm looking for better things in 2016.