Black Friday Massacre Sens @ Panthers

[StefanW]

Well, let's see, what were the differences in the roster between this game and the one against St-Louis?

Boro out, Phillips in
Greening out, Michalek in.

I think at this point Greening and Michalek are pretty much interchangeable, so that can't be the problem.

I said it before the game started that with Boro out, our LD looked very bad (Cowen excepted), and this was confirmed during the game. When you're paring Phillips with Karlsson, you are taking away his effectiveness. The opponent can double-team or triple-team Karlsson and leave Phillips alone. Boro is no better stick-handler than Phillips necessarily, but he brings the intimidation factor, and that alone sometimes helps us keep the play in the opponent's zone. Phillips can just contain the opponent but he keeps them in our zone. And he also makes terrible decisions with the puck.

Our top D pairing right now is Cowen - Ceci. They deserve more ice-time. Karlsson can make up his ice-time deficit on the PP. And he needs to be paired with Wiercioch while Boro and Methot are out. I'm no fan of Wiercioch, but pairing Karlsson with someone who can handle the puck and contribute to the breakout helps us not only get our of our zone, but to get in the O-zone with more authority and to stay there.

Phillips should get very minimal ES time, and he can get plenty on the PK.

Gryba is fine.

Difference between last this could be stated as Spezza in, Spezza out. Difference between last season and season before is Ryan and MacArthur in, Alfie out.

I don't think you can focus on a change in one or two players over an 82 game schedule, let alone from game to game. Sure Boro over Phillips gives us a slight uptick, but it will not be the margin between winning and losing in this league. Boro is good in his role but he is a 5/6 D.

 

[Alex1234]

Would you rather stay mediocre and be a bubble team hopefully drafting your star players due to good scouting or would you risk toiling as a league bottom feeder potentially ending up like Edmonton or Atlanta and never finishing the rebuild. You could end up like L.A, Pitt, Chicago but is it worth the risk of ending up like a joke of a franchise. Might not even be an option to blow it up since when the sens arent competitive the attendance suffers

Lets be honest

Were out of LEAGUE bottom 5 because of our goalies

 

[HispanicAtTheDisco]

Didn't see the game, (fortunately for me I guess) but from the sound of things it was not a pretty game. We almost got doubled up in shots by Florida, that is not something that should happen. We are currently sitting in 20th in the league, if our goalies start to falter we could drop like a stone, in all honesty I think we're going to keep trending down for this season and be about 24th come New Year's day.

When Methot comes back we need to do whatever we can to extend him because that will five us 3 solid guys for our top 4. At the draft hopefully we end up with one of the high end center's with our 1st, take some boom or bust guys who can potentially become elite with our 2nd's and see where that takes us. At UFA we hopefully sign one of Staal, Sekera, Erhoff, Michalek, or Martin (listed in order of preference) and call it a day. Trade some of our spare parts that are easier to move and roll into next year with something like this.

MacArthur-Turris-Ryan
Strome/Puempel-Zibanejad-Chiasson
Hoffman-Lazar-Stone
Pageau-Smith-Condra
Grant

Methot-Karlsson
UFA-Ceci
Cowen-Wideman
Boro

Lehner
Anderson

Fill the 4th line and 13th forward with whatever your preference of Pageau, Smith, Grant, Condra, Robinson, Greening, Legwand, Neil, or whoever elose we have.

That's still not quite a playoff team but I feel like it would be a lot less frustrating to watch as we would basically have a 2a, 2b, 2c and a 4th up front, a legitimate top 4 and a 3rd pair with potential, and the two goalies that we know and love.

Frig I wish it was as easy to do this stuff as it is to talk about it.

 

[StefanW]

Lets be honest

Were out of LEAGUE bottom 5 because of our goalies

This is 100% true. Without Andy and Lehner playing lights out from game 1 we are probably 3rd or 4th worst in the league right now. We need to improve significantly and quickly, because we can only ride our goalies for so long.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

this is a young team coming off a major win. I expected a let down. nothing to worry about, carry on. i have no worries at all about the progress of this team. sorry guys.

Funny thing is, this team has done that exact same thing now for at least 5 seasons. We always have a letdown after a close/emotional win like the one in St Louis.

It really shouldn't be a shock to anyone these days.

Next people will be baffled when the guys have a stinker in the next afternoon game......

 

[Very Stable Genius]

This is what the 30th payroll gets you, a whole lot of nothing.

It's sad that our payroll is going up next year, but with the exact same roster....

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Would you rather stay mediocre and be a bubble team hopefully drafting your star players due to good scouting or would you risk toiling as a league bottom feeder potentially ending up like Edmonton or Atlanta and never finishing the rebuild. You could end up like L.A, Pitt, Chicago but is it worth the risk of ending up like a joke of a franchise. Might not even be an option to blow it up since when the sens arent competitive the attendance suffers

It doesn't have to be an either or situation. We had Tavares or Landeskog within our grasp a few years ago. Divesting assets to get Tavares would have been well worth it. We could have parted with Spezza earlier, got a superb #1 centre and moved on.

The problem with Murray is he just won't pull the chute and when he does he trades for someone that keeps us mediocre. This team is absolutely starved for top end forward talent. Hoffman looks very good but we do not have a PPG forward.

 

[StefanW]

It doesn't have to be an either or situation. We had Tavares or Landeskog within our grasp a few years ago. Divesting assets to get Tavares would have been well worth it. We could have parted with Spezza earlier, got a superb #1 centre and moved on.

The problem with Murray is he just won't pull the chute and when he does he trades for someone that keeps us mediocre. This team is absolutely starved for top end forward talent. Hoffman looks very good but we do not have a PPG forward.

Yeah, I don't buy any of this. You can tank each and every year to get a high end draft pick. Having those guys is great, but it doesn't turn around a franchise on its own. The Islanders with Taveres have made the playoffs a grand total of what, one time? Colorado is in the dumpster even with Landeskog and all of that high end talent.

The easiest way to stay mediocre or worse for a very very long time is to jettison your top players and bank on 18 year olds to pull you up. See Edmonton, NYI, Colorado. The only way that type of approach works is if you have an owner with very deep pockets who is willing to supplement what you get in those drafts (the approach Buffalo is going to try), and if you have the ability to pick out talent in later round of the draft that creates a stable of young guys that become trade bait (e.g. Pittsburgh).

 

[Benjamin]

top 10 pick > 14th/1 playoff round

Maybe keeping Maclean is a good idea.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

I still think the problem is obvious: we're not a very good hockey team.

I'm not saying we're a poorly coached team (though like I said in the other thread, that isn't to defend Maclean - he's an average coach: nothing special, nothing awful), I'm saying we have a below-average assembly of hockey talent.

We are not a GOOD hockey team, and we don't have either the top-6 depth up front nor capable enough defencemen to ever really compete for anything.

We're a handful of mostly cheap parts that have been assembled, and we're attempting to cobble a team together with whatever deals we could find. That's not a winning culture.

Mhm. Nailed it.

 

[DrEasy]

Difference between last this could be stated as Spezza in, Spezza out. Difference between last season and season before is Ryan and MacArthur in, Alfie out.

I don't think you can focus on a change in one or two players over an 82 game schedule, let alone from game to game. Sure Boro over Phillips gives us a slight uptick, but it will not be the margin between winning and losing in this league. Boro is good in his role but he is a 5/6 D.

Yeah, I concede I kind of exaggerated to help make my point.

 

[StefanW]

Yeah, I concede I kind of exaggerated to help make my point.

Don't get me wrong, Phillips had a strong start but has been a real tire fire the past couple of games he's played. I give you that, 100%.

 

[MiscBrah]

EK has almost as many Giveaways (33) as he does missed shots (37).

The 33 GvA is actually exactly 1/3 of our entire GvA this season (99).

I love the guy, but something has got to change.

 

[HavlatMach9]

wouldn't be surprised if he touches the puck more than any other player in the league by any metric

 

[MtRundle]

When you put a Audi A4 in a Le Mans race you don't get upset when you get lapped, you just cheer when you pass someone...

 

[Ice-Tray]

Generals may institute strategic retreats, and acceptable losses, but you NEVER let that mentality filter down to the troops, or citizens back home, NEVER.

You accept the loss, take the blame, and never let anyone know it was part of a grand scheme. Moves like this made public are a sure-fire way to kill the moral of the troops, and the hearts and minds back home.

Same goes for a hockey franchise. You NEVER admit to tanking, and you NEVER make obvious and undefendable moves to this end, if it happens, no one must ever know.

 

[DylanSensFan]

Erik Karlsson and the rest of these slackers needed to be embarrassed. The coach tries to instill a way for them to play and when they do not follow that, they need to be called out by the fans and the coach. Most every player on this team is likely earning more then MacLean a season... they need to get the hell on their horses and start playing hockey. We see glimpses of what this team could be and then we see times of utter inconsistency. It is time for the veterans to show the kids how to play and the kids to start growing up. NO EXCUSES, NO Blaming the COACHES, this is the PLAYERS PROBLEM.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

top 10 pick > 14th/1 playoff round

Maybe keeping Maclean is a good idea.

Yea, if we get a top 5-10 pick in this year's draft, it's best thing that could happen to this team.

EK has almost as many Giveaways (33) as he does missed shots (37).

The 33 GvA is actually exactly 1/3 of our entire GvA this season (99).

I love the guy, but something has got to change.

Lol he touches puck more than anyone in the league.

You know who's second? Burns, someone who doesn't come close to as many touches as Karlsson.

Here's something fun, you know who's 3rd? Probably the best defensive defender Hjammerlsson with 5 less GA.

You know who's 9th? Brodie, a guy who many consider as 2nd for Norris running so far.

Lmao, give me a break.

Btw, Karlsson is 2nd in that top ten list among guys who have most takeaways.

 

[aragorn]

It's supposedly a very deep draft coming in 2015, Ottawa could get a couple of very good players from where ever they draft, they don't need to get into the top 10 & I certainly hope they do not. I want Ottawa to get better not worse, they have the assets now to make a decent move or two for the right players to improve the team, they just need to pull the trigger at some point. Of course, it would be nice if the players we had played with some heart & determination on a nightly basis, nothing worse than inconsistent play from players who look like they are going through the motions.

 

[Karlsson2Turris*]

If we somehow get a prospect like Storme/Marner/Konecny I'd be ecstatic. We haven't had a top end prospect in our system since Spezza (nobody projected Karlsson to be what he is when he was a prospect).