GDT: New Jersey @ Ottawa Thurs 7:30 pm on TSN5

[Pierre from Orleans]

Clearly 2Cowen is saying differently.

Lazar either needs 12+mins or to be in the AHL. Anything else is a waste.

The latter.

 

[Benjamin]

To go anywhere this team needs to role 4 decent lines ,right now we are not .This is the issue up front ,IMHO .Neil and Smith have been pretty meh to nonexsistant early ,think its time to change thats all

I'd much prefer O'Dell + Robinson over Smith + Neil on the 4th line.

They're dead weight that only causes negatives on the ice. Up until last night, anyways.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Whats the news on Hoff?

 

[topshelf15]

I'd much prefer O'Dell + Robinson over Smith + Neil on the 4th line.

They're dead weight that only causes negatives on the ice. Up until last night, anyways.

Yep ,maybe Macormick??Puemple and Lindberg are good prospects ,but i just see the guys we are talking about just being better suited for the grinding 4th line role

 

[Baby Ryan]

One "better" game against the lowly New Jersey Devils where he didn't produce anything doesn't erase years of not having chemistry with Zibanejad and Ryan. They've never had chemistry.

Skating and driving the net has never been Michael's problem. It's his ability to handle the puck and make plays.

His skating and driving to the net is how he makes plays. He was opening up chances and lanes that way last night.
He was pressuring the Devils' D and backing them up. If you noticed that.

He has NEVER been the type to make Spezza-lite passes or stick handle consistently like a god.

He refuses to go to dirty areas to score goals. Playing like a power forward? Lol

He's not. Not even close. Perimeter player

The only positive thing I have to say about Ryan is that he's not playing Spezza-bad defensively.

He was using his body to protect the puck and cycle. If all you only care about is the whole, the stats, immediate results, but not the details then fine.

This confidence thing has gone all the way back to last year. He's been cold for sooo long

Uhm no, not a whole year. And I can't believe how many people here hold onto the past.
Is there ever a "Fresh Start" policy here with some of you guys? So ridiculous. If it were like this in real life, everybody would crumble under second chances. The microscoping is stupid

Against the Devils? The Devils? Cycling against the Devils is supposed to make me feel better?

Expectations are low I see. Cycling. Against the Devils. Means success.

wow

You take positives where you can get them. Expectations are too high for what our roster is at the moment for some people.
It doesn't matter if it makes YOU feel better. Fact is, they are playing better than when they started and last game.
If you can't understand the latter then we should probably take this discussion, crumple it, take it outside, light with a torch, and trash it because it is pointless.

 

[Holdurbreathe]

The discussion was the deployment of the defense men. Thats what we are talking about. No where in my argument have I remotely suggested that its only on the defensemen to play D. You have insinuated I made a second untrue statement in that I think they should have had Karlsson and Wiercioch on the ice. Which yet again I did not say, there is a reason you can quote. Is this how you argue? Make statements up then base your argument around mythical comments I have never made?

I am glad you addressed the actual discussion by your final statement. Ceci or Karlsson on the right hand side certainly would have been a better option than Boro. Their puck retrieving ability and puck skills would have given the sens a better chance at exiting the zone. The fact they would not have to be on their back hand would have been far better options at the end of the game.

This team is also playing its 7th game of the season. Basing the decision of who you put on the ice over the players recent body of work over there careers is also the right way to distribute critical ice time.

Sorry but it isn't and Cameron is showing you it isn't, of course you have every right to have a different opinion. However you might ask MacLean how that belief worked out for him.

I realize the point you are trying to make, just don't see how you feel Boro and Cowen being on the ice had anything to do with the result and IMO it is the result that matters.

Boro and Cowen were left to defend 4 NJDs and I can assure you EK and Ceci would not have handled the situation any better, probably less effectively to be honest.

I am not sure why people assume EK is the answer in every situation, yet watched him let his man go for the Devils' 3rd goal?

 

[Holdurbreathe]

All the more reason to designate Karlsson as the shutdown D.

Karlsson has done it in the past with success. He's particularly good at it against skilled top line players.

And honestly, there's no one I feel more comfortable with out there in the last 1 min. Yes he has defensive brainfarts. But if he's out there in the last minute, he's completely focused on D and protecting the lead. When he's focused, no one is better than him at that on this team.

Fair enough, but I don't support the notion that EK is the solution in every situation.

Personally I had no problem with the D that were on the ice in the last minute, I was more concerned with the forward alignment.

 

[WhiteLight*]

Fair enough, but I don't support the notion that EK is the solution in every situation.

Personally I had no problem with the D that were on the ice in the last minute, I was more concerned with the forward alignment.

That's fine. Although I don't see Ceci or Wideman as shutdown D at this point in their careers either.

My concern is just getting people some roles. Players aren't being used correctly imo.

Karlsson and everyone else for that matter look a bit lost. Only Wideman seems to know what his role is (puck moving 3rd pair D). There's no real defined roles, no matchup strategy, weird D combos, weird ice time distribution, weird special teams deployment.

It's like there no game plan and they're just winging it. There should be a plan in place. Before the game starts, we should have an idea of which D pairing will be getting the most ice time and which lines the pairings will be matched up against. And most importantly, this needs to be a good plan (i.e. not playing Boro 22+ min a game).

 

[Micklebot]

Fair enough, but I don't support the notion that EK is the solution in every situation.

Personally I had no problem with the D that were on the ice in the last minute, I was more concerned with the forward alignment.

Even though I have no issue with using Karlsson to defend a lead, I don't know if the coach would be too happy putting Karlsson on to defend a 1 goal lead in the dying mins shortly after he botched defending a 2 goal lead.

In the end, I agree with you that putting Boro and Cowen out there wasn't the cause of the goal, so why is deployment being questioned? Some posters just have guys they like to scapegoat.

 

[WhiteLight*]

Even though I have no issue with using Karlsson to defend a lead, I don't know if the coach would be too happy putting Karlsson on to defend a 1 goal lead in the dying mins shortly after he botched defending a 2 goal lead.

In the end, I agree with you that putting Boro and Cowen out there wasn't the cause of the goal, so why is deployment being questioned? Some posters just have guys they like to scapegoat.

Why is Boro playing on the top pair? Why is Cowen playing on the bottom pair? Why is Karlsson not playing against top lines? Why is Wiercioch not seeing PP time (but Lazar and Chiasson are)? Why is Ceci being given so much responsibility with a guy who's playing badly right now?

There is deployment issues across the board, not just in the last minute of play.

 

[Real Smart Sens Fan]

Anyone that says Lazar isn't making an impact can't evaluate a players defensive game/impact.

As for the fight making a difference: it was a gimme for Neil and the players laughed about it on both sides. It had no effect.

Just quoting you because this is a good, correct post in a storm of fanaticism.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Another terrible attendance figure yesterday 16,578

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

Another terrible attendance figure yesterday 16,578

Not to make excuses but our stupid NHL schedule hasn't helped this franchise out at all. Three home games spaced almost a week apart with two of them against Nashville and New Jersey. And now Arizona on Saturday. None of those teams are going to draw walk up fans.

And maybe fans are just like us, tired of seeing the same team on the ice from last season. It's entertainment, and IMO, the Sens, as a whole, haven't been entertaining. Apart from HST, nothing is really drawing.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Not to make excuses but our stupid NHL schedule hasn't helped this franchise out at all. Three home games spaced almost a week apart with two of them against Nashville and New Jersey. And now Arizona on Saturday. None of those teams are going to draw walk up fans.

And maybe fans are just like us, tired of seeing the same team on the ice from last season. It's entertainment, and IMO, the Sens, as a whole, haven't been entertaining. Apart from HST, nothing is really drawing.

The Predators game was almost a week after the season opener and the attendance was just as atrocious. Scheduling is not an issue.

 

[GWNR]

Another terrible attendance figure yesterday 16,578

Ticket prices are ridiculous - the hike over the last two years is ruining the attendance. Plus a lot of people say **** it when they realize they have to drive all the way to Kanata to go. At least when tickets were cheap they'd make it worth it

 

[Micklebot]

Why is Boro playing on the top pair? Why is Cowen playing on the bottom pair? Why is Karlsson not playing against top lines? Why is Wiercioch not seeing PP time (but Lazar and Chiasson are)? Why is Ceci being given so much responsibility with a guy who's playing badly right now?

There is deployment issues across the board, not just in the last minute of play.

Boro is playing on the top pair because Methot is injured, and he's shown an aptitude in that role in the past. Cowen has always struggled with Karlsson so it makes sense.

Cowen is playing great with Wideman and had the second most ES TOI last night. He's playing well and getting the mins because of it.

Karlsson's deployment has always been to maximize offense. Why would we match him up against top lines when we don't have to, particularly when those top lines aren't particularly scary? On top of that, he hasn't been at his best, and Methot is out. There is a very solid rationale for not making things more difficult for him.

Wiercioch isn't seeing PP time because we've opted to play a forward on the point. I tend to agree that he should get some more PP time if he's in the lineup, because he hasn't been contributing otherwise. Maybe it would get his confidence up. That said, Chiasson has actually been effective a screening the goalie on the PP, my guess is Lazar is being asked to do the same. The 4 mins or so of PP time Lazar has this season is hardly a deployment problem.

Ceci and Wiercioch are probably getting the mins they are in an attempt to let them play through their struggles. They were both good down the stretch last season, and that likely afforded them some leeway in the coaches books. I think Wiercioch is running out of rope, and Cowen is picking up the slack.

Deployment issues are only issues if there is a better option. While you might think you have all the answers, Idk if your solutions would fare any better.

 

[Xamar*]

Not to make excuses but our stupid NHL schedule hasn't helped this franchise out at all. Three home games spaced almost a week apart with two of them against Nashville and New Jersey. And now Arizona on Saturday. None of those teams are going to draw walk up fans.

And maybe fans are just like us, tired of seeing the same team on the ice from last season. It's entertainment, and IMO, the Sens, as a whole, haven't been entertaining. Apart from HST, nothing is really drawing.

16000+ is a sellout in lots of arenas. I wouldn't call it brutal but it could be better. Kanata arena is the biggest reason why IMO.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

16000+ is a sellout in lots of arenas. I wouldn't call it brutal but it could be better. Kanata arena is the biggest reason why IMO.

Absolutely. How much of a walk-up crowd would you get downtown vs. Kanata.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

The Predators game was almost a week after the season opener and the attendance was just as atrocious. Scheduling is not an issue.

That's my point. Out of sight, out of mind. Half the people I talked to the day of the Nashville game assumed it was on the road because they had been on the road most of the season.

That's also on the Sens marketing team. They suck. You'd barely know there's a hockey team in this city with how little they extend their advertising beyond TSN 1200.

 

[The Waffler]

Not to make excuses but our stupid NHL schedule hasn't helped this franchise out at all. Three home games spaced almost a week apart with two of them against Nashville and New Jersey. And now Arizona on Saturday. None of those teams are going to draw walk up fans.

And maybe fans are just like us, tired of seeing the same team on the ice from last season. It's entertainment, and IMO, the Sens, as a whole, haven't been entertaining. Apart from HST, nothing is really drawing.

Lol it's such a thankless job scheduling 30 teams' 82 game schedule over 8 months+.

 

[WhiteLight*]

Boro is playing on the top pair because Methot is injured, and he's shown an aptitude in that role in the past. Cowen has always struggled with Karlsson so it makes sense.

That's not good.

Cowen is playing great with Wideman and had the second most ES TOI last night. He's playing well and getting the mins because of it.

That's good. Cowen is playing better than Boro right now, I think he should have filled in for Methot. I disagree that he's always struggled with Karlsson - that was mostly when Cowen was just struggling in general.

Karlsson's deployment has always been to maximize offense. Why would we match him up against top lines when we don't have to, particularly when those top lines aren't particularly scary? On top of that, he hasn't been at his best, and Methot is out. There is a very solid rationale for not making things more difficult for him.

I disagree. Karlsson has been specifically used against top players in the past and he's thrived.

Furthermore, he's the top defensive RD we have. Ceci isn't cutting it (especially with Wier). He's the obvious choice to be the RD on the shutdown pair.

Karlsson is a top player in the world. He should be used as such and not as a specialist. Karlsson has a large and varied skillset - skill set too large to be used as a specialist in one area.

Wiercioch isn't seeing PP time because we've opted to play a forward on the point. I tend to agree that he should get some more PP time if he's in the lineup, because he hasn't been contributing otherwise. Maybe it would get his confidence up. That said, Chiasson has actually been effective a screening the goalie on the PP, my guess is Lazar is being asked to do the same. The 4 mins or so of PP time Lazar has this season is hardly a deployment problem.

Lazar and Chiasson were on the same unit last night....

Using Wiercioch here is so obvious it shouldn't need to be pointed out. W is good on the PP.

Ceci and Wiercioch are probably getting the mins they are in an attempt to let them play through their struggles. They were both good down the stretch last season, and that likely afforded them some leeway in the coaches books. I think Wiercioch is running out of rope, and Cowen is picking up the slack.

Again, not a good idea imo. I feel these two are being given more responsibility than last year despite struggles. Weird. Agreed, Cowen should move up

 

[Holdurbreathe]

Not to make excuses but our stupid NHL schedule hasn't helped this franchise out at all. Three home games spaced almost a week apart with two of them against Nashville and New Jersey. And now Arizona on Saturday. None of those teams are going to draw walk up fans.

And maybe fans are just like us, tired of seeing the same team on the ice from last season. It's entertainment, and IMO, the Sens, as a whole, haven't been entertaining. Apart from HST, nothing is really drawing.

The Sens have traditionally not had great attendance in the first month or so of the season, particularly since the high tech bust.

 

[2XPRO31]

Any Updates on Hoffman?

 

[starling]

Ticket prices are ridiculous - the hike over the last two years is ruining the attendance. Plus a lot of people say **** it when they realize they have to drive all the way to Kanata to go. At least when tickets were cheap they'd make it worth it

You can get tickets on the "official fan-to-fan ticket marketplace of the Ottawa Senators" for $15 on game day. Just sayin.

 

[Holdurbreathe]

Any Updates on Hoffman?

Cameron said this morning Hoff is day-to-day.