9-5-4 22 points in 18 games. 7th in the East

[SelleckStache]

It's been a good stretch. They are holding a lead a lot better than last year where every time they scored a goal, they would never be able to stop the push-back.

I am honestly surprised at the shot totals though. They don't seem to be that bad.

 

[pm88]

Are we truly this good? Its hard to say. Would have been more comforting had we beat Rinne instead of his back up. Seems like we're playing a lot of back-ups.. so I don't know if our record is over-rated or not.. of course we can't control what the other teams does...but maybe we should have a mental asterisks about how the Sens are doing so far

 

[Lenny the Lynx]

Anyone else find that we are physically taking it to other teams in a sort of casual way?
It doesnt seem to be the team identity but i find the Sens have zero fear of any teams.

Id like that to get a little more play in the media and the narrative for the team.
We are big and for the size reasonably fast. Its a tough team IMO and i think its having an impact in these games.

I do agree this team is pretty tough and don't seem to get rattled, but I also think its just the new NHL. Intimidation is less and less of a factor.

This upcoming stretch until the end of the month will be interesting. We have a pretty tough schedule, and a number of back to backs. I think we'll fall down to earth, but I'm a pessimist at heart.

Your username fits well with this statement

 

[Larionov]

I think Ottawa is doing better than expected. You have to wonder how money spent differently on 9MM and Greening would translate, but I guess it's water under the bridge.

Every team is carrying at least a couple of lousy contracts. The question you have to ask yourself is, "Who else could they have signed?" We lucked out with Clarke MacArthur in 2013, a great FA pickup. The jury is still very much out on Legwand. The reality is that free agent shopping is like shopping on Christmas Eve - prices are high, and the selection is poor because most teams already re-upped their priority guys. I might have been tempted to get in on Mason Raymond, but beyond that I'm struggling for names...

 

[Dionysus]

Not allowing 4+ goals all the time has helped a great deal. Just seems like a more positive vibe with this years team. Effort is consistently high and they are managing momentum better. The kids are contributing and it is fun to watch sens games!

 

[BrawlFan]

We are Toronto from last year

 

[Xspyrit]

12th in league in Pts %
6th in East

http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20152ALLSAAAll&sort=pointPctg&viewName=summary

More stats :

14th in Goals per Game
13th in Goals Against per Game
14th in 5-5 F/A
18th in PP%
13th in PK%
20th in Shots per Game
29th in Shots Against per Game

I'm not sure what people expect from the most inexperienced team in the NHL with the lowest payroll.

Our PDO is being propped up by our goalies right now - our shooting percentage is about league average, so there's not much regression (if any) to be expected in that regard.

We go as our goalies go. No surprises there.

Pretty much all good teams do in general (MTL with Price, Tampa with Bishop, NYR with Lundqvist, Boston with Rask, Detroit with Howard). Pittsburgh could be the exception to the rule in the East but Fleury ain't that bad in regular season, he's rocking a 0.930 SV % right now. So yeah, solid goaltending is needed in the NHL to win consistently

I think it's just because Sens fans are not used to have consistent solid goaltending yet

However with a young inexperienced team, Sens goalies can't afford to go on cold stretches (like last year) and the offense isn't heavy power enough to compensate (like Tampa or Pittsburgh)

Just checked cap geek. "Space today" was 17m. I don't know how I feel about that, no long term commitments or albatross contracts provide organisational agility, (aye the rub) which only matter if management has strong leadership. A situation which is in flux right now and should be treated sceptically based on precedence.

Facts :

- lowest salary payroll
- lowest NHL games experience

IS there still some people wondering if the Sens are in the midst of a rebuild or no? IMO, it should be clear as water. Players like Phillips, Neil, Legwand and even Michalek now; were hired as veteran stop gaps. Even if not in their primes anymore, Sens brass think they are strong presences with great work ethic to have in the locker room and can still contribute on the ice. Do people think the Sens went all in with those contracts to win the Cup?

When you realize those facts, it's hard to not find ridiculous the hate going out for those guys...

You know what team we look like right now? Last season's Maple Leafs. The Sens are likely to impode in the same way if we can't break the puck out of our end and start getting consistent pressure on the opposition. Our goalies are very unlikely to keep this up for a full season.

Not even close. Scoring chances and puck possession is not comparable. Sens control the play for long stretches or even periods during a game. Of course, many fans here would like to see the Sens dominate for 3 periods but ask me if I think they are realistic? ok thanks. They give up 5 more shots but in terms of scoring chances it's close... Unless people think that those 5 shots more are golden scoring chances

No, they look more like the Sens of 2012-13, without Spezza, but with Karlsson and Cowen and a few new promising players (Ceci, Stone, Hoffman, Lazar). It's funny because people were saying the exact same things back then but when you look at advanced stats, it doesn't tell the same story. Of course, there's a lot of room for improvement but comparable to the Leafs who were outclassed in almost every game is not accurate. People put way too much stock in shots against. But anyway, it will take time for this to start being recognized like it did for other things in the past.

If we take last game where the Sens were heavily outshot and even outplayed most of the game :

http://senstats.com/nov-20-2014-nsh-ott-game-stats/#more-405

This site report that scoring chances were 23-14 even though the shots were 35-9...

Now if you take the game against the Canucks... the Shots were 37-24 for Vancouver, but according to the same site, scoring chances were 15-14 for Vancouver... Do people start to see where I'm getting at?

Sens still have a lot to learn so it shouldn't be an outrage if they are outshot or even outchanced by veteran/contending teams with a high payroll. Missing a player like Methot is huge for the Sens, who don't have a ton of proven depth (and low payroll). Just accept reality and enjoy, it's a development season and it should be really fun.

 

[Micklebot]

Our PDO is through the roof. It won't last long.

Pitsburgh, MTL, Calgary, and Nashville all have higher PDO, LA and TBay aren't far behind; will they come crashing down too?

 

[BigBush*]

well said xspyrit

 

[Micklebot]

We are Toronto from last year

Toronto last year had a CF of 42.9%

We currently have a CF of 47.1%.

There is at least something different; we aren't getting outshot as bad as they were either.

 

[Micklebot]

...

If we take last game where the Sens were heavily outshot and even outplayed most of the game :

http://senstats.com/nov-20-2014-nsh-ott-game-stats/#more-405

This site report that scoring chances were 23-14 even though the shots were 35-9...
....

A couple interesting things I've noticed on Senstats;

We are actually pretty close to even when it comes to zone time, at 49.29% but do better than the opposition at time on attack at 50.76%. My understanding is the difference is zone time includes time the opposition has the puck in their own end. So does this somewhat suggests that we are playing a posession game, waiting for better chances rather than just shooting at the first opportunity?

We are still losing the scoring chances battle though, at 44.73%. We do seem to do well when we enter the zone with possesion, but far worse than the opposition when we enter without possesion (dump and chase), garnering just .269 CF per entry vs .346. It would be nice to know league averages, but I think this is a bit of us being bad at defending against the dump and chase (slower D) as well as not being as good on the forecheck when dumping it in ourselves.

 

[Xspyrit]

I don't think we make the playoffs once our goaltending comes back down to Earth, but no biggie, because we need a good draft.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/statistics/team/_/stat/scoring/sort/teamSavePct/year/2015/seasontype/2

Sens actually have the 3rd best SV% in the league. What would be "coming back down to earth? Does it means that you think that Sens duo are "average" in reality? Personally, I think they're better than average and probably top-5 as a duo. I expect them to stay top-10 this year and finish around 0.920% with the "no second chances" system they play

well said xspyrit

Thanks

Toronto last year had a CF of 42.9%

We currently have a CF of 47.1%.

There is at least something different; we aren't getting outshot as bad as they were either.

Facts are fun.

Toronto had a -8 shot differential. Sens are at -5 right but I believe they can improve at around - 3

A couple interesting things I've noticed on Senstats;

We are actually pretty close to even when it comes to zone time, at 49.29% but do better than the opposition at time on attack at 50.76%. My understanding is the difference is zone time includes time the opposition has the puck in their own end. So does this somewhat suggests that we are playing a posession game, waiting for better chances rather than just shooting at the first opportunity?

We are still losing the scoring chances battle though, at 44.73%. We do seem to do well when we enter the zone with possesion, but far worse than the opposition when we enter without possesion (dump and chase), garnering just .269 CF per entry vs .346. It would be nice to know league averages, but I think this is a bit of us being bad at defending against the dump and chase (slower D) as well as not being as good on the forecheck when dumping it in ourselves.

Yes, It looks to me that the Sens are trying to set up better opportunities (sometimes they wait too much) instead of shooting as soon as they see the net, at least compared to last year. It's a thing I have noticed, many teams shoot at almost every opportunity against us. I realize Lehner's rebound control has something to do with this, but I wonder why they use the same strategy against Andy. He is a guy "that gets bigger with every shot he faces". If you don't score early on him and pepper him with shots he's going to save, he might be very hard to beat the rest of the night.

As for the other subject, our dump and chase sucks and need some adjustments. In some games, they have been great at creating scoring chances but in some others (like against the Bruins for example), offense has been lacking. Yes they miss Spezza for offensive punch but overall the team has more cohesion. Zibanejad breaking out would help but I really don't think it's for this year. Stone, Hoffman, Chiasson, Lazar are all young so we can't too much out of them. So many interesting building pieces though.

Sens need to create 2-3 more scoring chances per game (on average) and prevent 2-3 against. That would help.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

This year, I'm not overly worried about the win-loss record.

What I want to see is the team improve and grow every game. So many kids, and a few more in Bingo still to promote....I want to focus on the kids learning and growing into the best possible players we can mold.

But yeah, the way we've played so far, I'm shocked we have so many wins. Feels like we've been hanging on by the skin of our teeth for many of those games.

 

[Super Cake]

The next couple of games can change that.

Need to come out strong against the Blues tomorrow.

 

[OttawaSenators11]

Thank goodness for those loser points!

 

[StefanW]

Prior to the season, most people here seemed to peg the Sens as a playoff bubble team. Heading to the 1/4 mark of the season we are basically in a playoff bubble position.

The D has been better than I expected (low bar), while the forwards probably not as good as I was expecting.

Before the season started I (along with others) figured that the goaltenders would make the difference. They have been unbelievable so far this year. If they keep it up we will be in the playoffs, and if they regress to normal levels we are probably going to be on the outside again.

All of this is barring trades, of course. Adding Methot will help the team, and assuming Lazar stays it will also force the team to ship someone out. If we get someone good back we could become a really decent team. I'm not holding my breath on that one though.

We are the lowest payroll now, but we will be moving up 6-10 spots next years when salaries from new contracts kick in. How far up we move depends in part to Methot's contract stuff, of course. If we end up dealing him we may end up near the floor again.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

We are Toronto from last year

They played a pure run and game offense where most of their forwards had career year numbers with no defensive game and terrible defense.

We're playing 2 way game, sticking with every team we've faced so far and lost due to lack of top-end talent on offense and many players struggling offensively. Solid goaltending has kept this team afloat.

We're really nothing alike.

 

[maclean]

You know what team we look like right now? Last season's Maple Leafs.

You take that back right now!!!

 

[Sens Rule]

Anyone else find that we are physically taking it to other teams in a sort of casual way?
It doesnt seem to be the team identity but i find the Sens have zero fear of any teams.

Id like that to get a little more play in the media and the narrative for the team.
We are big and for the size reasonably fast. Its a tough team IMO and i think its having an impact in these games.

I like the narritive. The Sens fear no one. Go toe to toe vs Chicago or Detroit on skill and talent. Kid line matching or nearly so... Hossa and Toews. Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

Turris and MacArthur are fine. They compete hard and win or lose the match-ups. They don't wilt. Lucky or unlucky.... They are not outmatched. The Kid line competes with elite lines. They sometimes are hemmed in... Sometimes they go tit for tat on chances facing elite players like Chicago.

This team might be average. They are not intimidated everx. They don't give up ever either.

I like this team. Beat us fine. We can be beat. We won't give in or give up to anyone. 60 minutes of domination? Maybe not. 60-65 minutes of compete..., win or not. We get that.

We dominate for a period or a latge chunk of games.... Ok. Flow starts with other team... Ok too. We fight back. We dont give in or give up. Being outshot alot doesn't tellout story. Chance for chance vs Chicago.. Lose in shoot out. I do that all the time!

 

[tony d]

Good to see we're having a good season thus far, let's hope we keep it up and make the playoffs.

 

[Savannah Skunk]

Thank goodness for those loser points!

Haha! Well said.

We may need them. We have a gruelling stretch of road games coming up in the second quarter of the season. We have to find a way to win many of those games and at least get said 'loser point' on others if we have any hope of being in the playoff hunt. I hope it starts with a win in Detroit followed by revenge in St. Louis.

 

[TeamRenzo]

Also, we're playing an awful lot of backup goalies compared to other teams.

Yeah, but they are still NHL caliber goalies.

 

[Korpse]

It's not always by design though... it just seems that way because of the last two games.

Chicago couldn't play their starter either game because he was hurt.
Varlamov was hurt for the Avs game.
Bobrovsky was hurt for the 2nd Jackets game.
Harding was hurt for the Wild game.

I wouldn't count Reimer because he played because he is good in Ottawa, not to give Bernier a rest.

We played Minnesota starter. Harding is not and will never be The starter there.

 

[Savannah Skunk]

Yeah, but they are still NHL caliber goalies.

... Trying to prove they deserve another game.

Interesting how the rest of the league perceives the Senators - low offense, low risk. They are only partially right.

 

[Back in Black]

Bubble Team on a shoe string budget, don't expect too much.

But as I stated in the beginning of the season, we will make the Playoffs, but just barely and that's when the bubble will burst.

At least we are getting points early, 'cause were gonna need them.