Post-Game Talk: Sens vs Canes

[Nac Mac Feegle]

The big question is....how long will Andy/Hammond be able to hold the fort?

Will they have anything left in the tank if we make the playoffs?

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

If we are 50% in the faceoff dot tonight we win.

 

[Six Assets]

Some fans love pessimism.

Exhibit A

 

[Step]

Yeah I'm done with this "team" for a bit

I have had enough of cheering on a bunch of pathetic losers

Troll on, brother. Let us know when you make it back in 23 hours when you start posting again.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Exhibit A

Not really, I'm not calling the team mediocre or saying they suck or walking away from the team at the 14 game mark, all I've said is that they need to be better at faceoffs, I'm still pretty hopeful in this team, and there's a lot to look forward to.

 

[Flamingo]

The effort level did suck in the 3rd period. But to say that that's Cameron's fault is to ignore how this team was nicknamed the comeback Kids last season.

I think the team leadership -- i.e., Karlsson, Turris, Neil -- need to address it. You know Neil is on-message. But does he have any influence in the dressing room with these kids? Turris seems pretty affable. Karlsson only seems to be fired up when he's embarrassed on the ice. "Fark!!!", *slap stick on ice*. Can he be the guy that makes everyone accountable to the team on every shift? We'll see.

 

[MarkZackKarl]

Lol that's brutal, our centers cost us the game tonight, they need to learn how to win a faceoff.

Odd that Cameron scratched Smith ahead of Neil for this one. Another error.

 

[Rysto]

If Boro wasn't from Ottawa, he'd barely touch the ice for this team.

 

[Benjamin]

Not gonna win many games with terrible faceoff %, low effort, questionable coaching decisions and 4/7 dmen being outplayed by RON HAINSEY.

2 on 1? Pass every time.

Full credit to Hammond. Maybe he is fur realz.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Even strength shots attempted by both teams when Karlsson on ice: 16-16.

When Karlsson off: 38-16

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.

 

[freddy61]

It would have been nice to have a big left handed centre with a 52.6 win % on his draws this year in the final seconds. Too bad I wonder where we could find one of those?

 

[Vaclav Varada]

It would have been nice to have a big left handed centre with a 52.6 win % on his draws this year in the final seconds. Too bad I wonder where we could find one of those?

If only Spezza shot left he would fit the mold!

 

[Ouroboros]

It would have been nice to have a big left handed centre with a 52.6 win % on his draws this year in the final seconds. Too bad I wonder where we could find one of those?

Check the penalty box. That's where he usually hangs out.

 

[freddy61]

Check the penalty box. That's where he usually hangs out.

The refs find someone else when they can't have Smith. Methot and Boro are always good candidates and so is Chia but they are not choosy they always find a way to keep their % up to earn their pay. If he played for Wpg or on this night the Canes, Smith would obviously never be found guilty of hooking, slashing, interference or any such infractions. It's amazing how so many teams play infraction free games against us unless they throw the puck over the glass.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

So we have the most shots against of any team in the league. That's going to need to be fixed if we want to make the playoffs.

 

[Super Cake]

Just watched the game. Well kind of being that i was fast forwarding a couple parts of it. There is not much to like about the way this team is playing.

 

[SENSational Sens Fan]

If the season were to end today, we'd not only be in the playoffs, but opening at home vs Tampa. Pretty incredible considering how inconsistent we've been. Speaks volumes about our division. Definitely something to be happy about.

 

[Super Cake]

I know the Sens are 7-4-3 and 2nd in the division, but i am still greatly concerned.

They need to improve or they are going to start dropping fast.

The question is will they improve?

 

[DrEasy]

I think strength of schedule, or rather the weakness thereof, has also played into our current record. This is not a 7-4-3 team based on the way they play.

Having said that, there's no shame in stealing points thanks to a goalie. The goalie is still a part of the team. Hasek carried the Sabres for many years (and we wished we were the Sabres back then), Price is doing the same for Montreal. Good on Murray for fixing this position, and for darn cheap I may add. As for fixing the other positions though...

A guy who played well: believe it or not, I thought Wiercioch had a very solid game. He showed some poise, participated in the play a bit more, made some nice passes, was rather solid defensively. Not his fault that Cameron sends him out there for a 3 on 3. And if he's going to do that, he should combine him with a couple of speedsters who can benefit from his stretch passes and cover for him defensively if he gets caught out in front. Not with Stone. Then again, is it possible to just alternate Karlsson with Wideman on 3 on 3s? Somebody else is bound to play and is bound to be embarrassing some way or another. That's where Ceci was missed the most.

Speaking of Wideman, despite the goal, I didn't think he was good. He made some bad decisions defensively. Burf, who is a very underrated poster here, said as much, and said it better.

Right now we just don't have a good enough personnel defensively. But let's fix the top 6 instead...

Stone played a very good game in his return and has easily become my favorite player to watch on this team, at least until Karlsson stops loafing around. Ryan is playing with more confidence as well.

The pairings are still problematic:

- Lazar should not play 4th line C, and he's not 1st line material. Either play him where he belongs now, probably as a 3rd or 4th line winger, or send him down to get more minutes as a centre.

- Prince is too timid, and needs a guy to make space for him, and right now that guy can only be Ziba in my opinion. He reminds me of the way Hoff played as a rookie.

Hoff - Turris - Stone
Prince - Ziba - Ryan
Michalek - Pageau - Chiasson
Puempel - Smith - Lazar

Methot - Karlsson
-
-

 

[krapsik]

Very bad game. What the hell is Boro and Wier was doing on the ice in a last minute protecting lead ? Two worst defenceman. Why is Wier on the ice 3-on 3 ? Slowest player on a team. We can shuffle lines, but this team goas nowhere before we make huge addition on D. Hammond was amazing and thats it. Glad we have a point.

 

[Beville]

Can we just win in regulation...

Every game seems to be a 3 pointer.

 

[maclean]

Spend too much time chasing the puck - can't get it when we don't have it, can't keep it when we do. I'm not as fatalistic as some around here but you can't help but wonder what will happen when we actually face a top-tier team. Maybe we'll bring it?

 

[Sensfanatic]

After watching that game last night, I have no idea why this team has winning record.
Same old issues of getting stuck in their own end and can't seem to make 2 good passes in a row. No flow to their game whatsoever.
I don't mind if they lose but I just get so frustrated watching them play. So soft on the puck, losing battles everywhere, an horrendous decision making.
All of the games I've watched this year show the other team with more puck possession and usually many more shots on goal.
I hope they turn it around but I think it really has to do with overall lack of skill, particularly on the back end where 4 of the 6 d are AHL caliber.
I blame this fiasco on Melnyk/Murray as they did NOTHING in the off season to show that they're serious about winning. I think players like Karlsson and Ryan know that and appear, at times, to reflect that attitude in their play.

 

[OgieO]

Even strength shots attempted by both teams when Karlsson on ice: 16-16.

When Karlsson off: 38-16

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.

If only you could send that as a PM to Brian Murray.

We need help on the back end. Badly. PW was better and kinda decent overall tonight, but that still only makes him a 5/6. Boro has been a disaster this year and we don't have anyone to step in. We need someone to play with Ceci, ASAP.

Making things worse is our collapsing D zone style. We collapse WAAAAAY too soon and it allows basically continuous offensive zone possession by the opponent. We can't win battles to the puck on the boards because we are way too close to the middle. I get trying to protect "home plate" but we have to adapt to take away possession. Ironically, we are actually pretty good at it on the PK, but uber passive 5 on 5 in the D zone.

 

[HavlatMach9]

I have no idea why this team has winning record.

potent offense + good goalies