What the HELL is wrong with the Ottawa Senators!?

[Mick Riddleton]

They played above there heads last year, caught teams with the style of play and were over hyped this year, very average team. Turris being traded hurts them.

 

[Korpse]

Then its the coach/Boucher effect.

That’s possible. It definitely doesn’t look like the players are buying in like they did last year but it’s still pretty early.

 

[Kamina]

I’m baffled too. I don’t watch enough Sens games to form an opinion but he’s always been talented. Is it an effort issue or a skating issue? I’m not sure. But he should be at least a 25-25 player with his hands and intelligence.

Ryan's hands are f***ed from repeated finger injuries. It really sucks for us. He played like the player we expected him to be at the beginning of his time in Ottawa and in last year's run.

 

[Kamina]

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

This is ironic because this is how Turris got to be an Ottawa Senator in the first place.

However, unlike Duchene, Turris was acquired for futures and entered a stable locker room led by the 2007 SCF core (Alfie, Spezza, Phillips, Neil, etc.). He was allowed to get used to the team without lots of pressure.

Ottawa's locker room had already taken a hit from losing Methot and MacArthur... So far, losing Turris has been a greater loss than any of us imagined.

 

[613Leafer]

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.

I didn't say the puck carriers way, I said the players on the opposing team on the other side of the ice. They clogged up the neutral zone, but for anybody from the other team, not just the puck carrier. Plus just general clutching/grabbing that wasn't being called at all.

 

[Tak7]

Caught portions of the game last night in Anaheim.

I thought it was interesting that on several bench shots, nobody on the Sens bench was talking at all - none of the players, none of the coaches, no one. Boucher uttered a few words here and there, but it seemed like a family that just went through a really awkward fight and didn't know how to follow it up.

 

[JT Kreider]

This is ironic because this is how Turris got to be an Ottawa Senator in the first place.

However, unlike Duchene, Turris was acquired for futures and entered a stable locker room led by the 2007 SCF core (Alfie, Spezza, Phillips, Neil, etc.). He was allowed to get used to the team without lots of pressure.

Ottawa's locker room had already taken a hit from losing Methot and MacArthur... So far, losing Turris has been a greater loss than any of us imagined.

Neil too. I can't imagine he played more than 5 minutes in Game 5 last year but he definitely got his tean going with his ambush of Glass.

 

[Commander Clueless]

They aren't playing anything like they were last year. Bottom line on that one.

Karlsson slumping and banking too much on a trade like the Duchene trade would be a kick in any team's groin, but even so it's like the team has already given up on Boucher.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Button addresses it perfectly on tsn. They lived above margins last year. Negative goal differential. Subpar special teams. Got hot and carried very hot goaltending through playoff run.

Goaltending this year has been average and they're not getting enough production from Stone, Hoffman, Ryan, etc. to make up for their shortcomings.

Lol "very hot" is the last thing I would describe Anderson's performance in the playoffs last year.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

I read somewhere that Duchene is actively stopping Karlsson from playing hockey with his mind. This is just a rumor.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

They aren't playing anything like they were last year. Bottom line on that one.

Karlsson slumping and banking too much on a trade like the Duchene trade would be a kick in any team's groin, but even so it's like the team has already given up on Boucher.

I said this last yr in the ECF thread: players will commit to this style of play only for a short while. Soon enough not having the puck on your stick and playing passive becomes annoying for a professional player. Boucher I'm sure has been tuned out.

And don't give me this Matt Duchene is the problem nonsense...dude is a phenomenal player

 

[Commander Clueless]

I said this last yr in the ECF thread: players will commit to this style of play only for a short while. Soon enough not having the puck on your stick and playing passive becomes annoying for a professional player. Boucher I'm sure has been tuned out.

And don't give me this Matt Duchene is the problem nonsense...dude is a phenomenal player

He's not THE problem, but they did put a lot of eggs in his basket and he has yet to deliver. Losing Turris for him has certainly not helped them at this point in the season.

But I agree, I think there's a divide between players and coach.

 

[izzy]

rely way too heavy on one player to put an entire team on his back

this isnt basketball

 

[rent free]

they're not playing with adversity

 

[Revelation]

I honestly saw it coming when they exchanged Turris for Duchene. I may be one of 5 people who unironically would rather have had Turris than Duchene on my team by a huge margin even before the trade. Duchene is a poor man's McDavid with faceoff ability, he basically plays the exact same game as McDavid but at a lower (but still high) speed and with less deking/playmaking ability. That doesn't translate nearly as well, it's kind of like being a poor man's Ovechkin which is a barely NHL caliber player because the core aspects of their game rely so much on gamebreaking talent/amazing physical build. Turris plays a much more effective all around game with Bergeron/Jeff Carter elements that translates much better at their respective talent levels and at giving their linemates support and breathing room.

 

[Edmoney]

Honestly speaking here, they were due to regress after last year. Karlsson was all-world with stellar goaltending from both netminders which was due to come back to earth. Last year they were firing on all cylinders.

 

[Autism]

Matt Duchene happened.

 

[I am not exposed]

Karlsson going through the biggest slump of his career isn't helping!

 

[McGenerational]

Matt Duchene happened.

He's like a success curse lol

 

[branch]

Could also be difficult mentally to be traded. Not that anyone here knows the feeling. It’s probably very easy to be distracted when 75% of your life is half the continent away. I get distracted when I don’t know when a bill is coming out of my account or if there’s 2-3 dirty dishes on the counter, couldn’t imagine what it’s like in his situation, coordinating a move for something of that scale.

 

[bukwas]

I've watched the last 2 and will probably watch again tonight. To be honest it's difficult to pinpoint any one specific problem area, maybe the light bulb will go on tonight.

 

[BLNY]

Lol "very hot" is the last thing I would describe Anderson's performance in the playoffs last year.

It carried them into the playoffs though. I seem to recall strong goal tending, but could be wrong. They did get strong offensive productions from the likes of Ryan though. I believe he, like Karlsson, is playing hurt/less than 100%.

 

[david999]

As a team that is considered the most boring in the NHL, I have to believe their style of play is catching up to them. They don’t have the horses to consistently play the way coach Boucher wants. Through bad player management (Methot), trade (Turris), luck (McCarthur) their depth has been depleted. Their playoff run last year was a mirage that fooled both fans and management into believing they were cup contenders, when in fact it was sheer luck combined with Karlsson playing out of his mind. The bottom line is that there is nothing wrong with Ottawa, they are exactly where most hockey analysts predicted they would be, outside of the playoffs.

 

[General Disarray]

They overachieved last year. They are a bubble team on paper though.

I think the main difference is Karlson and horrible goaltending. Any GM that went into the season with a 36 year old Anderson should be fired. I kept saying they needed to find a new goalie, but they still think he is a legit starter at this age. Also Mike Condon was a fluke. I knew it was a bad mistake to sign him. He would make a great backup to someone like Rhinne or Vasilevski, But he is not a 1b. They didn't learn from the Hammond mistake.

Luckily for them, there are two elite teams in their division and the rest are garbage. They technically can still make it lol.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I've watched the last 2 and will probably watch again tonight. To be honest it's difficult to pinpoint any one specific problem area, maybe the light bulb will go on tonight.

They're basically guaranteed a big win tonight because everything says otherwise. hockey, man.