Are the Ottawa Senators not as bad as people expected them to be?

[NyQuil]

Kind of bonkers that Lajoie has scored 4 goals in 7 NHL games when he scored 1 in 56 AHL games last year, heck even his best season in junior he only scored 8 goals.

It's crazy when you watch him because he oozes confidence with the puck.

Hopefully he keeps it up. He's been a diamond in the rough so far.

 

[topshelf15]

It's crazy when you watch him because he oozes confidence with the puck.

Hopefully he keeps it up. He's been a diamond in the rough so far.

Yep no panic with the puck on his stick,even under a heavy forecheck

 

[Alex1234]

They are supposed to compete in 3-4 years
Plenty of time

 

[BlueBaron]

The problem with young teams is you don't know what they are going to do. There will be ups and downs to be sure and I have my doubts about the playoffs but to come in last in the NHL you usually see a chain of events conspiring to make it happen.

I'd like to see Ottawa do well enough that their pick being in Colorado isn't the end of the world for them. A good drafting team like Ottawa can bounce back from asset losses pretty quickly.

 

[NyQuil]

While I'm a Leaf fan, I don't hate any of the other Canadian teams, in fact, I want what's best for them.

So for Ottawa, I want them to finish 9th. They should not make the playoffs because Melnyk doesn't deserve the revenue. They should continue to suck and fans should continue to tune out until an owner change. But they cannot tank this year because they don't have the draft pick. So 9th place finish is the ideal. Hopefully they keep the hot start and then slowly fade down to 9th.

It's hard to cheer for your team not to make the playoffs but I think you're right in that it would be an acceptable outcome.

he problem with young teams is you don't know what they are going to do. There will be ups and downs to be sure and I have my doubts about the playoffs but to come in last in the NHL you usually see a chain of events conspiring to make it happen.

It's a fact that young players tend to fade down the stretch under the pressure of the NHL grind.

Ottawa has to make an early investment in points while other teams are adjusting and they can compete simply through well-directed effort.

 

[BlueBaron]

It's a fact that young players tend to fade down the stretch under the pressure of the NHL grind.

Ottawa has to make an early investment in points while other teams are adjusting and they can compete simply through well-directed effort.

This is true but we saw Toronto and NJ field really young teams that kept it going. You're right though, you guys can make a go of it but you can't give away any points. Signing your #1 C would be a big help in terms of distractions and comfort. Hope he stays with you guys.

 

[topshelf15]

The problem with young teams is you don't know what they are going to do. There will be ups and downs to be sure and I have my doubts about the playoffs but to come in last in the NHL you usually see a chain of events conspiring to make it happen.

I'd like to see Ottawa do well enough that their pick being in Colorado isn't the end of the world for them. A good drafting team like Ottawa can bounce back from asset losses pretty quickly.

Yep ,playoffs are unlikely but some good development years and staying out of the complete basement is a modest goal for us this season...The following season will be the one to try and gain an elite piece

 

[justafan22]

As long as anderson plays well, they have a chance to a bubble team

 

[NyQuil]

As long as anderson plays well, they have a chance to a bubble team

He really is key with such a young defence.

 

[16w]

He really is key with such a young defence.

also, the defense really is key for such an old goalie...

 

[Silencio]

Coloroado proved last year that sometimes removing a locker room distraction (whether it's the player's fault or not) is enough to jump start a team in the right direction. Perhaps we are seeing the same thing with Ottawa.

 

[Riddum]

Only 3 points behind the best team in sport history.


With 2 games in hand...

Very impressive indeed, especially since the said best team has also won the next 8 Stanley cups.

 

[CaptainCrunch67]

Back in 2001 the Flames weren't expected to be all that competitive, and they had Greg Gilbert as a coach. they started like a rocket in the first like 20 games and lost very few games. They got strong goaltending from Turek that lead to a contract extension for him. Eventually the goaltending cooled and the on time scoring from all lines went away and the Flames stumbled over the last half of the season. The lesson is that a young team with a bunch of unknowns might start hot, but eventually talent and lack of depth will kill them, especially in this NHL.

I still believe that the Sens will be a team with a bad record.

Its too soon for a thread like this.

 

[InglewoodJack]

I think it was always going to be hard to be as bad as people thought they'd be. Very hard to ice a team of professionals (including some bonafide very good players like duchene, stone, anderson, et. al) and end up with like 50 points. same for montreal; everyone expected them to be historically trash, but unless each team were to ice an AHL lineup, they're bound to win some games, they're bound to get hot and put a streak together once in a while. season is still long, and there's tons of time for ottawa to stink it up, but as long as their top players are healthy, I think it's going to be hard for them to live up to their expectations.

I think that's more symptomatic of the offseason amnesia, where fans forget that parity does exist in the NHL, and the difference between top teams and basement teams is close enough that any given basement dweller could probably win around 4 games out of 10 against the best.

 

[jbeck5]

Yep ,playoffs are unlikely but some good development years and staying out of the complete basement is a modest goal for us this season...The following season will be the one to try and gain an elite piece

That would not be good. All these young guys just missing the playoffs, and you want them to start sucking in their 2nd to 4th years here? Lol

 

[joe dirte]

The Sens looked pretty exciting tonight. 4-2-1 now, I think this qualifies as winning hocley and only 3 points back of your Leafs with 2 games in hand. If they are as crappy as you say they are. Your team is not much better if we are using your logic. Darn exciting game and win against a good Montreal team.

how did this work out for you?

 

[Eltuna]

To me it’s only a matter of time until Philly, St Louis, and Florida passes them. I still say bottom 5 with a good chance of bottom 3.

 

[NyQuil]

The injuries piling up don't help very much on a team with no depth.

 

[NyQuil]

how did this work out for you?

How did that easy win against Calgary work out?

Most of your terrible takes are tough to bump because the threads they are in are inevitably closed.

 

[joe dirte]

How did that easy win against Calgary work out?

No worries. It's an 82 game season. We've had a couple of losses against some bottom feeders, but also shown we can win against the league's best. Overall, the Leafs have, and will, win a LOT of games this season.

Take no offense by that post, I know you're aware of just how bad your team is. when when brags about the Sens being a few points behind the Leafs, and being a winning team, when it's blatantly obvious they're a basement team, it begs for a response like that.

 

[NyQuil]

Well, Condon is as bad as people expected him to be based on last year's performance.

 

[Eltuna]

The injuries piling up don't help very much on a team with no depth.

I think that’s part of it, but more so the teams correcting back to normalcy for the talent level they have. Tkachuk, Pageau, and arguably Smith are the only injuries that I’d call big blows right now, everyone else is a 4th liner/bottom pairing dman.

When the team is shooting at league leading percentages, and it’s still playing .500 hockey as the Sens were, it’s not a very good sign. Players like Tierney, Chabot, Lajoie, Tkachuk, and Duchene have produced in their first 11 games at an unsustainable rate for their talent level. Even guys like Dzingel, Ryan, and Boedker are probably producing at a rate above their means. The scoring should definitely dry up but I wouldn’t say the goals against are unsustainable with the defence and goaltending the Senators have. The team up to this point has been scoring a lot while also getting scored on a lot. I expect the former to correct while the later is sustained throughout the season.

 

[NyQuil]

I think that’s part of it, but more so the teams correcting back to normalcy for the talent level they have. Tkachuk, Pageau, and arguably Smith are the only injuries that I’d call big blows right now, everyone else is a 4th liner/bottom pairing dman.

Those blows are bigger than they would be for other teams because of our lack of depth and our relative youth.

When the team is shooting at league leading percentages, and it’s still playing .500 hockey as the Sens were, it’s not a very good sign. Players like Tierney, Chabot, Lajoie, Tkachuk, and Duchene have produced in their first 11 games at an unsustainable rate for their talent level. Even guys like Dzingel, Ryan, and Boedker are probably producing at a rate above their means. The scoring should definitely dry up but I wouldn’t say the goals against are unsustainable with the defence and goaltending the Senators have. The team up to this point has been scoring a lot while also getting scored on a lot. I expect the former to correct while the later is sustained throughout the season.

I don't think anyone thought our offence would be sustainable.

And our D was always going to be an Achilles heel when you have a sophomore as your #1 D and Dion Phaneuf is your second highest-paid defenceman.

The goaltending was going to have to play a huge part and it's been very inconsistent so far this year.

 

[joe dirte]

Well, Condon is as bad as people expected him to be based on last year's performance.

then the best thing the Sens can do, is play him 82 games a year for the next 5 years.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

how did this work out for you?

Great since that post was weeks ago.

How many injuries do they have BTW? Still talking about the Senators I see despite you saying just weeks ago you could care less about them because you wanted to watch winning hockey.

How did that work out for you losing to Calgary Monday?