GDT: SENS in California (San Jose), Sat. 10:00pm on SportsNet

[Langdon Alger]

He's the teams media blow hard. I wish we had good sports reporting in this city and not guys who just want to suck up and be friends of the Org.

He did say he didn’t like the Burrows trade, unlike Versage who tried to convince a caller that the only reason Burrows production was down was due to playing on a bad Vancouver team, completely ignoring age which is certainly a factor.

A lot of people on that station never question anything the team has ever done.

 

[Jorge Garcia]

If we were losing games 3-2 or even 4-3, I would give more of a benefit of doubt towards Boucher, but these 50 shot 5-0 losses are inexcusable. Even when Cameron was here, it rarely got that bad, and I still believe him to be the worst coach we've ever had. At this point, the players need to be given a system that allows them to be more creative with the puck rather than a system that treats them like defensive robots.

They're playing the system, are they? It's pretty hard to tell. As I recall, the system stymies and frustrates the other team, forces turnovers and sets up scoring chances. Sens look like a bunch of guys who never met each other, playing pickup on a pond.

 

[Cheapseats]

CeCi doesn't belong in the NHL. How many times did he leave Anderson out to dry?

 

[Cheapseats]

They're playing the system, are they? It's pretty hard to tell. As I recall, the system stymies and frustrates the other team, forces turnovers and sets up scoring chances. Sens look like a bunch of guys who never met each other, playing pickup on a pond.

When you watch the game breakdown film it really looks bad. So much wrong on this team now.

 

[Cheapseats]

He did say he didn’t like the Burrows trade, unlike Versage who tried to convince a caller that the only reason Burrows production was down was due to playing on a bad Vancouver team, completely ignoring age which is certainly a factor.

A lot of people on that station never question anything the team has ever done.

Versage must have nudes of some station exec or something. It's a miracle how he's on the air. His schtick of stirring the pot by knowing nothing about sports is not an act.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

One way contract is irrelevant, because he has a NMC he cannot be waived unless he agrees, so yes it is meaningless

And that was the point I was trying to make, to the poster I quoted, who wanted Ryan waived.

People posting impossibilities here make me wonder just how little they understand about the inner workings of a NHL team.

 

[UnHappyDude]

Will our dishonour never end?

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Dorion probably missed the window to rid ourselves of Ryan's contract. This past off season was the perfect time with him coming off that playoff run and the expansion draft. We should have made a deal with Vegas to send him to Nevada so we could keep Methot. We're probably stuck with that albatross until the next go at expansion

And just what kinda deal would that have been, to convince an expansion team to take an older player, with a high cap hit, for four more season?

 

[Tundraman]

Have you noticed that more often than not when the D try to exit the zone along the boards they are alone or a forward is lined up alone also in single file further up the ice. Often you'll see 3 guys lines up that way along the boards up to the opposing blue line and even if they manage to win all 3 battles the best they can hope for is a dump in with no one left to pressure their D as they recover the puck. In turn as the puck is dumped forward more often than not they are pinched out and don't get the puck much past their own blue line and the other team counters. There are very few fast skating multi player tandem exits so they have someone to pass to and push the defenders back or leave them caught behind the play. If Boucher has spent hours preparing them as he says then he's watching the wrong film or the players don't execute.

Boucher also said he varies the 1-3-1 to a 2-2-1 or a 2-1-2 depending on the opponent or how the other team has adjusted but it looks like he does that only with certain lines and rarely at that. Their normal pattern seems to be the low pressure fore check 1-3-1 trying to force mistakes at centre. The problem is that when you give the other D so much time they pass behind his red-line-zone 3 man coverage. His style would have worked great when the red line meant something and every team had plug poor passing D but when you can pass from deep in your zone or have a guy in the neutral zone just tip-forward a pass to a player waiting outside the opposing blue line that 1-3-1 doesn't work. What's weird is that they don't often use the same tactics when the other team is trapping them.

There is also a major problem with using man to man coverage in the D zone. The other teams are screening the chaser who sometimes has to cross the ice to get to his man and they are taking advantage of the free man confusion. It looks so bad when a player is allowed to skate circles around all our players but no one will leave their coverage to paste him as he does his fantasy skate which often results in a goal. If they must play man to man they have to do more switching. Any good football D back would know that without the coach who has often never played the position telling him. The players can talk and do that themselves if the coach is too dumb to fix it after a year and a half. The coverage of point shots is atrocious and they are given up much too easily. Fixing that alone would save an average of a goal a game.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Meh. I don't see it this way that we need to certain winning percentage. Were 5 points back. Not far from being 3 points back. WHICH isn't much at this point. Other teams WILL lose. And some massive slide isn't required to lose 5 points.

Clearly you don't want to look reality in the face, and recognize it for what it is.

Ottawa has to catch, and pass Florida, Detroit, Montreal and Boston to get into a playoff spot.

Those teams are not going to be standing still, in the race for third in the Division.......... they all want the same spot.

Boston in now 7 points ahead of the Senators, plus they have a game in hand (over Ottawa).

Ottawa will now have to gain 73 points, to reach 98 points at the end of the season, in their remaining 54 games ....... which is a 0.676 rate (P%) for the next 54 games.

So far, Ottawa has played at a 0.446 rate for their 28 games so far.

Do you understand how much better they would have to play, in order to jump from 0.446 to 0.676 and stay at that rate for the next 54 games?? I don't think you do, and to put it in perspective take a look at the Leafs, who are currently sitting at a 0.650 rate through their first 30 games .......... The Senators would have to play better than the Leafs have so far this season, for the remainder of the season, just to get to 98 points.


The odds of this happening is now down to 6.6%........ are you willing to bet on those odds?

Ottawa Senators Chance Will Make Playoffs - Sports Club Stats

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

If we were losing games 3-2 or even 4-3, I would give more of a benefit of doubt towards Boucher, but these 50 shot 5-0 losses are inexcusable. Even when Cameron was here, it rarely got that bad, and I still believe him to be the worst coach we've ever had. At this point, the players need to be given a system that allows them to be more creative with the puck rather than a system that treats them like defensive robots.

Watching last night, it was SO predictable how the Senatoars were going to enter the O zone on the PP....... D man drops the puck back, player picks up the puck on the fly, and passes to the forward (Hoffman) sitting on the blueline on the left side boards ............. the Sharks knew this, and defended for it, as it was so obvious ....... but they kept trying the same entry throughout the game, when on the PP.


Boucher has to realize that his team has been scouted!!!

 

[Sensfanatic]

The Sens will not be a playoff team this year.
The main objective now will be to avoid being a lottery team next year when their 1st round pick (Colorado) WILL NOT be top 10 protected.

 

[Cosmix]

What about Jaros?

Maybe.

 

[Viletho]

Watching last night, it was SO predictable how the Senatoars were going to enter the O zone on the PP....... D man drops the puck back, player picks up the puck on the fly, and passes to the forward (Hoffman) sitting on the blueline on the left side boards ............. the Sharks knew this, and defended for it, as it was so obvious ....... but they kept trying the same entry throughout the game, when on the PP.


Boucher has to realize that his team has been scouted!!!

On the contrary, it is so easy to enter the zone for the opposing team whrn we are on the PK.

Yesterday they showed how the sharks form a perfect form on the PK.

Our strategy seems to be to form a line at our blue line, but they collapse so much that it can be 1v3 and they will enter easily..

 

[pepty]

Jerkstore is saying that he thinks the Sens may be dropping info to try to prepare fans for the trading of Karlsson.

They don't seem to know the difference between the trades that would blow up Sens fans support-like the Alfie one or a Karlsson one-and those that they would grumble about but accept.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Clearly you don't want to look reality in the face, and recognize it for what it is.

Ottawa has to catch, and pass Florida, Detroit, Montreal and Boston to get into a playoff spot.

Those teams are not going to be standing still, in the race for third in the Division.......... they all want the same spot.

Boston in now 7 points ahead of the Senators, plus they have a game in hand (over Ottawa).

Ottawa will now have to gain 73 points, to reach 98 points at the end of the season, in their remaining 54 games ....... which is a 0.676 rate (P%) for the next 54 games.

So far, Ottawa has played at a 0.446 rate for their 28 games so far.

Do you understand how much better they would have to play, in order to jump from 0.446 to 0.676 and stay at that rate for the next 54 games?? I don't think you do, and to put it in perspective take a look at the Leafs, who are currently sitting at a 0.650 rate through their first 30 games .......... The Senators would have to play better than the Leafs have so far this season, for the remainder of the season, just to get to 98 points.


The odds of this happening is now down to 6.6%........ are you willing to bet on those odds?

Ottawa Senators Chance Will Make Playoffs - Sports Club Stats

Look reality in the face? A little ironic coming from some. Aren't I super negative? And think all the players are bad. And think our GM (the pro) has failed in building a good team and our coach (a pro) has failed in whatever he's tried to do. (Those last two are correct).

I'm just not a standings watcher. I can honestly say I look at the standings exactly 0 times a season. Yeah we'd have to be a lot lot better. If Andy improves. That's a couple more points right there. But whatever. One game at a time.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Jerkstore is saying that he thinks the Sens may be dropping info to try to prepare fans for the trading of Karlsson.

They don't seem to know the difference between the trades that would blow up Sens fans support-like the Alfie one or a Karlsson one-and those that they would grumble about but accept.

What they don't understand is that fans aren't like "yeaaahhh trade dem overpaid supuratarz entitled bastards with all dair darn talent and keep dem hard workers and extend them they deserve the money!!! Woooooo!"

 

[Burrowsaurus]

He's the teams media blow hard. I wish we had good sports reporting in this city and not guys who just want to suck up and be friends of the Org.

Simmer speaks his mind but then it's "wow. So. Negative. ".

 

[Cosmix]

When your captain and best player is playing like crap and dont seem to care one way or the other it gives a bad impression for the rest of the team.
This team is dead folks!!! now the best thing for this franchise is to finish as low as possible for the draft and then we need to get rid of Dorion and Boucher and try to move as many dead wood as we can, and come back next and the play the kids.

A full rebuild, following the TORONTO Maple Leafs model?

 

[Alex1234]

How on earth is that not a goal?????

 

[Cosmix]

Nope. Either the teams have figured it out or the players are not doing what they were doing last year. I don't know which one.

It appears that Boucher has changed his rigid 1-3-1 system to one that includes more forechecking. That has not worked either.
A defensive-oriented system works well for offensively challenged players but is not optimum for offensively gifted players. The system needs to be different for each line and/or set of 5 players (3F & 2D). Square pegs in square holes and Round pegs in round holes.

 

[Cosmix]

A big part of last year was having the LH D to step up on that side. Methot/Phaneuf/Boro were able to do so. With Methot given away and Boro injured we are no longer able to lock that side down.

The players seem depressed. We couldn't keep Methot on the team because we didn't want to lose another player and a pick, but we had no problem losing Turris and even more picks/prospects to get 1 extra year on Duchene. Does it even make sense?

Dorion likes to hug and high-five the players when he makes trades. I hope and think his days of doing so are nearing an end.

 

[Cosmix]

I do not think so.

(Parenthesis: Thanks Sens of Anarchy for the attribution of that quote, and for correcting me.)

So, I do not think they will do this because the problem is not only the coach. The problem starts with Melnyk needing short-term fixes to make money for what not reasons. The team really needs a reset, I know we nearly made the finals last year, but this looks like an aberration to me. The team needs to be younger, with a few vets. remaining.
Build around Stone, Hoff (?), Erik (assuming he wants to stay for that), Jaros, Chabot, Duchene, etc.
Get a coach that can organize things down the road. Ask Boucher if he can/wants to stay for that.

I was agreeable to what you were saying until your last sentence. Both Boucher and Dorion must go.

 

[Icelevel]

How on earth is that not a goal?????

Don't even care.

 

[Back in Black]

A full rebuild, following the TORONTO Maple Leafs model?

Where we gonna find a $50 Million dollar coach??????