What the HELL is wrong with the Ottawa Senators!?

[JT Kreider]

They obviously overachieved last season, this can't come as a surprise?

Karlsson had surgery and isn't 100% yet, and maybe Turris was well-liked by the players? Morale dropped as he was traded?

Duchene hasn't produced either.. so yeah.

Man I wonder how uncomfortable Duchene feels in that locker room. He pulled some serious selfish nonsense to get out of Rado which pretty much forced out one of the Sens most important players, and now all this losing. Can't be good for morale.

To me players like Duchene who ask for a trade so publicly are always branded in my mind as selfish and giving up on their teams when they want out.

I've never really accepted Nash as a true Ranger #wedontwantyou </3 2012 NYR

 

[joe dirte]

Man I wonder how uncomfortable Duchene feels in that locker room. He pulled some serious selfish nonsense to get out of Rado which pretty much forced out one of the Sens most important players, and now all this losing. Can't be good for morale.

I think it's a stretch to lay it all on his shoulders.

although he probably isn't feeling great about it right now.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Most teams can rattle off a list of prospects with optimism, no?

Argument: Senators have no prospect pool
Counter: Name off prospects with high potential, most of which are on the cusp of making the NHL (Oh, I forgot Chlapik)

Very easy to follow.

 

[THall4]

Guy Boucher's shelf life has expired there. Some coaches are only good for 2-3 yrs to set up a structure..then need to be removed..Guy Boucher is one of those types of coaches.

People here saying its Matt Duchene's fault they have lost 9 of 10? really??

Its not Duchene's fault Karlsson has been bad.
Does Duchene play goal too?
Its Duchene's fault Hoffman hasn't been playing well either and is currently on the 3rd line
and his fault Bobby Ryan is always hurting...and has 1 goal.

Its definitely his fault Pierre Dorion traded Kyle Turris..who wasn't going to sign there.

 

[RDTBay4]

They really need to change the rules, the trap is just unfair guys!

 

[JT Kreider]

I think it's a stretch to lay it all on his shoulders.

although he probably isn't feeling great about it right now.

It's obviously not all on him but I can guarantee he felt an immense pressure to step right in and perform, and at a high level. That's probably also part of his problem.

 

[WaveRaven]

In Ottawa it's always the coaches fault. Fire him

 

[Machinehead]

Nobody wants to hear this, but analytics regression.

 

[983 others]

A not very good team had a fluke run in the playoffs.

Also Karlsson's foot is jacked and will never be the same, so have fun with giving him a huge contract too.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

One year they're good, the next year they suck, the next year they're good, the next year they suck. That typically seems to be the case for them.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

It's pretty baffling to me, they seemed like such a solid team. That said the Duchene trade was a head scratcher no doubt. Why upend team chemistry for a marginal upgrade?

 

[BruinDust]

Probably a case of a lot of things really

1) A system being figured out

2) A demanding system form a demanding coach being tuned out

3) A franchise D-man not playing up to his usual standards

4) A forward group underachieving

5) A trade of a key player for another key player that hasn't yet worked out

6) Less than adequate goaltending

 

[JT Kreider]

Probably a case of a lot of things really

1) A system being figured out

2) A demanding system form a demanding coach being tuned out

3) A franchise D-man not playing up to his usual standards

4) A forward group underachieving

5) A trade of a key player for another key player that hasn't yet worked out

6) Less than adequate goaltending

Yeah it's really the case of a perfect storm. Everything that could possibly go wrong has. Even 1 of those 6 things going right would be enough to not be in this deep of a hole.

Specifically 3 or 6. More specifically 3.

 

[swimmer77]

Erik Karlsson more worried about how much money he should make in 1 1/2 years than what is at hand right now.

(All of the other theories were taken)

 

[Silencio]

Yeah some of the goals they scored last year were straight up ridiculous luck.

And simply put if AV doesn't "lose" his best defensive pairing in favor of Staal and Holden the Rangers win Games 2 and 5.

And if Mike Sullivan doesn't pull Fleury in Game 3 Ottawa beats Pittsburgh in 5 or 6 games.

And if the refs don't mysteriously blow the play dead- twice - when Ottawa has the puck in Pittsburgh's end they probably score in the first OT of game 7.

Excuses can go both ways.

 

[Voight]

o·ver·a·chieve

(ō′vər-ə-chēv′)
intr.v. o·ver·a·chieved, o·ver·a·chiev·ing, o·ver·a·chieves
To perform better or achieve more success than expected

Last year was pretty much their version of the 2012 Devils.

 

[Voight]

Probably a case of a lot of things really

1) A system being figured out

2) A demanding system form a demanding coach being tuned out

3) A franchise D-man not playing up to his usual standards

4) A forward group underachieving

5) A trade of a key player for another key player that hasn't yet worked out

6) Less than adequate goaltending

They have the same coach as last year, I doubt he introduced a new system for fun after the one last year worked out well for him.

 

[DesertPenguin]

Ottawa played great in the playoffs last year. No one should argue otherwise. You don't get to a game 7 overtime in the ECF without playing well.

That said, Ottawa was playing above and beyond what that team, on paper, seemed capable of. Everything was clicking. They have now swung the other direction and are playing below what they are capable of. The two go hand in hand.

 

[MisterNoItAll]

They have the most overrated group of players. Matt Duchene, Bobby Ryan, soft and invisible half the time.

 

[harrisb]

They have the most overrated group of players. Matt Duchene, Bobby Ryan, soft and invisible half the time.

This coming from a habs fan....lololololol, thanks I needed that.

 

[NyQuil]

That said, Ottawa was playing above and beyond what that team, on paper, seemed capable of. Everything was clicking. They have now swung the other direction and are playing below what they are capable of. The two go hand in hand.

The system was certainly clicking but individual players were definitely hampered by injury (e.g. Erik Karlsson, Marc Methot, Mark Stone).

Clearly they are not playing up to that standard this year but I don't believe that last playoff represented some kind of zenith for that particular group of players.

Nonetheless, I don't think you'll find too many Senators fans who don't see last year as a missed opportunity.

 

[613Leafer]

Ottawa played great in the playoffs last year. No one should argue otherwise. You don't get to a game 7 overtime in the ECF without playing well.

That said, Ottawa was playing above and beyond what that team, on paper, seemed capable of. Everything was clicking. They have now swung the other direction and are playing below what they are capable of. The two go hand in hand.

They were also allowed to run interference on virtually every play, only rarely getting penalized for it. If the other team was trying to carry the puck in along the right boards, Ottawa would be interfering with/clogging up guys from the other team trying to enter the zone along the left boards. Now, all teams were doing that to some extent in the playoffs, but the Sens were particularly aggressive with it from what I recall.

The NHL has been more strict with interference this year, and so a big part of Ottawa's success in the playoffs may be neutered.

 

[NyQuil]

They were also allowed to run interference on virtually every play, only rarely getting penalized for it. If the other team was trying to carry the puck in along the right boards, Ottawa would be interfering with/clogging up guys from the other team trying to enter the zone along the left boards. Now, all teams were doing that to some extent in the playoffs, but the Sens were particularly aggressive with it from what I recall.

The NHL has been more strict with interference this year, and so a big part of Ottawa's success in the playoffs may be neutered.

Yeah, this is completely inaccurate.

Getting in the puck carrier's way isn't interference. They didn't pinch unless the puck was coming up that side.

Not to mention, Ottawa hasn't been singled out in terms of being penalized for interference this year, so I have no idea what you're talking about.

Teams are finding other ways to beat the pinching D on that one side.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

Because they aren’t that good.

 

[Rydgar]

To summarize:

-they overachieved last year
-coach is bad
-Karlsson looks terrible
-Duchene looks bad
-Goalie is playing bad