Post-Game Talk: Carolina at Ottawa

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I was at the game tonight & it looked to me like Anderson had another crappy night allowing two weak goals. Obviously the team in front of him again didn't help him much against a bottom feeder team playing a back to back after flying in from Vancouver.

loool.

He didn't have a great game, but I don't think he was solely responsible for both of the goals.

BTW, the Michalek - JGP - Stone line was great. Now if we could get someone to play with the Turris line we'd have 3 lines going. Chiasson is just not working there.

That's two games in a row they've been arguably our best line. JGP and Stone seem to be magic together. They were terrific in AHL together, the rookie tourney and in pre-season.

Peumpel is another Hoffman, we need to give him more seasoning before we introduce him to the NHL. This season for certain and maybe even next. Prince as well.

Agreed. Keep Puempel in AHL until he seasons his game perfectly. Absolutely no need to call him up. We need a top line scorer, he isn't close to being one yet.

Prince on the other hand seems ready.

 

[FuriousSenator]

Wow. Just wow. Never have I ever been more frustrated in my life.... play that game again 99 times out of 100 and the Sens win 5 or 6-2 every time.

I am now fully convinced the Sens won't make the playoffs. Not for any reason other than that the universe simply won't let them.

 

[Sensinitis]

MacArthur-Turris-Prince
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
Michalek-JGP-Stone
Condra-Legwand-Lazar
Chiasson

Try this just once pls.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

What are you talking about, he barely played 7 min

And your point... It was a good seven minutes.

 

[bert]

Wow. Just wow. Never have I ever been more frustrated in my life.... play that game again 99 times out of 100 and the Sens win 5 or 6-2 every time.

I am now fully convinced the Sens won't make the playoffs. Not for any reason other than that the universe simply won't let them.

The same things that have plagued the team all season reared there ugly heads last night. They played a good game no doubt, but like many have mentioned they had the momentum of a big win it was Saturday night, and they were playing the 3rd worst team on a back to back. That is a must win no matter how you shake it.

They continue to lack killer instinct and put teams away, yeah Khudobin played great but they have 4 breakaways/semi breakaway and came away with nothing. Someones gotta step up and finish. The continue to get scored on directly after they score I have never seen a team continue to follow up a goal with weak shifts. These are traits of a young team and a team that doesn't know how to win. Good teams find a way to win. Bad teams find a way to lose.

As much as I love Anderson I still have my doubts when he isn't getting a lot of rubber. I feel like the third goal he makes that save if he is getting peppered. Yes it deflected but it was at the release point, he usually tracks that and makes a save. He fell into the butterfly really quick. If I am a contending team and looking to trade for him this is something id be wary of.

It was an entertaining game and it was nice to see a lot of the players making plays. I thought Karlsson had his best game I have seen in years which is tremendously exciting. This team is going as far as he is going to take them, its obvious to me that he is playing with a different confidence with Methot back. Methot allows him to do several things other players do not, Karl always knows if he jumps into the play Methot is back, not only back but his gap control is fantastic. He is always very close so if there is a turnover he wont be caught flat footed or he can win a race to a lose puck and move it out of a danger zone. He provides a viable D to D option for Karlsson if there is pressure and again Karlsson trusts him. Methots ability to eliminate the opposition in the zone and get the puck out controlled is like nothing the team has had all year.

The third pairing was clearly a mitigated disaster and has been the last 3 games. Gryba needs a break, I feel like he needs some motivation as the other left handed D men all have to earn there way in the lineup. Id love to see what Wideman can do for a couple games.

 

[DylanSensFan]

loool.



That's two games in a row they've been arguably our best line. JGP and Stone seem to be magic together. They were terrific in AHL together, the rookie tourney and in pre-season.



Agreed. Keep Puempel in AHL until he seasons his game perfectly. Absolutely no need to call him up. We need a top line scorer, he isn't close to being one yet.

Prince on the other hand seems ready.

The knock on prince is that his game wasn't rounded out well enough. Whether he can create offense or not, he also needs to play D.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

The knock on prince is that his game wasn't rounded out well enough. Whether he can create offense or not, he also needs to play D.

If he's more than incompetent call him up. If every team waited until every single one of their prospects were studs defensively then 26 would be the average age for rookies. He's fast and smart. We need a spark offensively. He should get a few games at least.

 

[Tragedy]

The Hoffman- Legwand - Lazar line had quite a few chances in the 3rd period. I wouldn't want to break up the Hoff, Zibby and Ryan line just to have that line, but in another game where things aren't clicking, I wouldn't hate seeing them paired up again.

 

[WhiteLight*]

MacArthur-Turris-Prince
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
Michalek-JGP-Stone
Condra-Legwand-Lazar
Chiasson

Try this just once pls.

I agree with the top 12 but not the lines

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Quality of discussion has fallen off a lot over the past year. There's only ever a handful of topics going on here and they're filled with pessimism, negativity and repetitive arguments.

I don't think what you're noticing has much to do with the team's place in the standings. I think it has to do with dropping by here and finding the same half a dozen people saying the same things over and over.

Dunno if we are allowed to say this, but we're a little too handheld here. For example, if you were with your friends the discussion would be much more organic, talking about which players are doing well/poorly, what the team should do and so on, but here we need to post in the right boxes and so on. It makes it kind of a drag, it's still a nice forum though.

As for the game: Varlamov'd by Khudobin! Yet another good game by the Sens (how many in a row now?), but sadly with the wrong result.

- Can I repeat how much I LOVE Methot? Here's a difference between Methot and, say, a guy like Phillips back when he was at the top of his game: Methot makes the right play every time, whereas Phillips makes (or at least used to make) the safe play. See the difference? I really hope Marc stays healthy and we sign him to an extension. Maybe we can entice him with a short-term high-amount extension and if he proves healthy we can give him the long-term one later?



- Lazar is getting close. Don't know when Smith is coming back, but Lazar needs to step up if he wants to keep his spot. I think/hope that Condra's spot has firmed up by now, he's been really good.

- Bad luck for the third pairing; I imagine it means Phillips draws back in. Can't wait for Boro to get healthy.

Methot is a rock. We need to just give him his five mil for 3-4 years and be done with it. Losing him to free agency would be a crime.

I'm still not sold on Lazar, but I'm willing to wait a year or two in the hopes he gets some top line time. I don't see the 30+ goal thing that TSN1200 keeps pumping.

This story is getting old. It's Murray's turn to move on. We need new blood to make it to the next step.

Will he fire Cameron too?

Murray has his job for as long as he wants it etc. He should have been canned ages ago but he tells Melnyk nice stories and has the media wrapped around his fingers. Hopefully the team goes outside the org for the next GM because we really need some new ideas here.

As for the game, it was fine. At the very least I hope we beat the Leafs, not much hope against the Rangers, that's for sure. If we can't beat Toronto...wow. Just wow.

 

[Karlsson2Turris*]

Try Lazar with Turris pls

 

[MiscBrah]

Try Lazar with Turris pls

-4 and 1 assist in his last 5 games.

No thanks jeff.

 

[SaltyPete]

Just watched the game now. I know we lost but I seriously could not be happier with how we played. Just off the top of my head I can think of 11-12 plays that could have easily been goals for us.

 

[maclean]

I got to say that i hate games like this. Games where you deserve to win, but you just don't due to posts, lucky bounces and amazing goaltending by the opposing team.

Team is playing well. So that is a positive. While this season is a write off at this point, hopefully we can build off of our play into next season.

considering the situation, games like this are actually ideal i would say. play a solid game, see improvement from the youngin's, deserve to win, but still get the L because we're not making the playoffs anyhow

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDoo]

Just watched the game now. I know we lost but I seriously could not be happier with how we played. Just off the top of my head I can think of 11-12 plays that could have easily been goals for us.

Really wish that I had PVR'd it. Based on the discussion it generated in this thread, it really seems like the kind of game you want to see before expressing any opinions....

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

If Ottawa plays the second half of the season the same way they played against Carolina, we will make playoffs, easily at that.

Khudobin played like Tim Thomas in his prime. We hit 3 posts and they scored fluke goals. It was the ultimate recipe for a loss no matter who we were up against.

 

[Xspyrit]

Judging from only the highlights, Canes seem to have scored on their only 3 scoring chances (and lucky/garbage goals too) while the Sens had plenty of great scoring chances but Khudobin was extremely good. And apparently Sens had 3 posts? Still not as worse as last few years though in terms of posts.

lol at the game-cast (shots location) :

http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/gamecast?gameId=400564057

Another 1-goal game Loss, that's pretty incredible... Anyone has the 1-goal games record updated?

play like this for the rest of the season please, because its obvious this team aint getting into the top 10, picks 11-18 are a wash might as well try now.

What are you talking about? Sens have a Points% of 0.500 and are 23rd. I think they are lucky this year, on pace for 82 pts and the 8th overall pick. I say lucky because they are in no way, shape or form a terrible team but they keep losing that 1-goal games, and the luck is that the upcoming draft is probably the best since 2003. Even luckier if they manage to get an elite top-line Center prospect, because that's the only key piece missing (and with an upgrade on Methot as a #2)

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

Just need to find a way to cut the weak links

Once the garbage players are off this team we might have a chance at making the playoffs.

That doesn't accomplish as much as you think... Every year, you will always have "scapegoats" on a non-contender. The great/good players of today are your garbage players of tomorrow... Find me some negative posts about Greening from 2011-13, there wasn't much

In 2-3 years, a player like MacArthur could be among those... maybe even before. I have seen that on HF already, several times.

It's embarrassing we are playing this way

What is "embarrassing"? Are you getting embarrassed at school by your Leafs/Habs friends? Who cares? Hockey is not that important.

I I'm going to embrace the tank I'll have better things to do than watch the team I like and hope they lose

If I embrace the tank, I'm just not going to bother with the Senators

Sounds like plenty of people are doing just that

There's no "tank to embrace", it's just a developmental season and Sens are not ready to join the dance. It was possible to make the playoffs but more like 50/50, more things needed to "go right". They could still make then with a long winning streak but like I thought at the beginning, I'm not sure it will materialize this year. Even if they make it, I don't think they would beat the Bolts, Wings or Penguins anyway (unless they would get lucky enough to get the Habs or Isles? And even then, not sure they would beat those teams), so getting a top-10 pick in this draft might end up being a great blessing in disguise.

- I dislike Legwand less now and have accepted him as a (somewhat) useful/versatile 4th line veteran

Legwand has 19 pts and is on pace for 35 pts... I have never seen a 4th liner put up 35 pts, even when the scoring was much higher. Or maybe we would need to go back 25 years ago when I was not following the NHL

 

[Icelevel]

Legwand has 19 pts and is on pace for 35 pts... I have never seen a 4th liner put up 35 pts, even when the scoring was much higher. Or maybe we would need to go back 25 years ago when I was not following the NHL

have you seen a 4th liner get 1st pp ice time and score all his goals on the pp?

 

[Xspyrit]

Man, only a total of 283 posts in the GDT.

HFSens is a ghost town these days.

Silence is much better than what is usually said though...

Just like the CTC. Sens dont win = no fans

half serious

That's why I say this team have a weak fanbase, or at least not better than the other small markets... But Sens fans are delusional, they expect their team to be like the Leafs/Habs/Rangers. Those are some damn big markets. Yet, Ottawa has been better than the Leafs for a while, lol even in the down years. This fanbase is more a bandwagon thing it seems, so many are only here when the team is good... Maybe there's other cities who would support their team more through the good and bad times... Ottawa has to wake up if they want to keep their team, but luckily for people in this city, this team is going to be good again soon.

These boards were super-active when we were losing last year. We've lost a LOT of regular posters.

That's expected, many comments in GDTs are garbage, sounds like in the back yard of a high school. Personally, I'm hanging on by a thread on the board and not always read GDTs. I'm really wondering if there's another forum out there that would fit my needs better.

I don't think what you're noticing has much to do with the team's place in the standings. I think it has to do with dropping by here and finding the same half a dozen people saying the same things over and over.

Exactly, the level of intelligible arguments has dropped considerably.

Some of the really good posters were turned off by the negativity last year too, which often took the form of Spezza/MacLean bashing. With the team not looking any better, it seems as though the more negative posters were more in their element (switching targets, of course, because Spezza and Mac are gone) while the good posters started to show up less and less. There are some outstanding posters still showing up and participating, but just not as many.

At this point I don't hang out here nearly as often as I used to, and there are threads that I refuse to open. I want to enjoy the experience, and not just read a bunch of crap that I know is going to piss me off. When I do come here I will sometimes not bother opening a thread based who the last poster was.

That's just where I am at, and I'm sure a few others are in the same spot.

Best post I have read in a while. Highlighted is exactly what I think and that's what I'm fighting against all the time. It seems I have a trouble understanding why not everybody think the same... And before somebody says "it's ok to be different", shouldn't we all think that child's prostitution is an abomination? Okay, thanks

You're a poster who believes in the scientific method to analyze a game, and so you should be someone who DOESN'T get pissed off when you read something you disagree with. Welcome opposing opinion. And of course you can ignore baseless opinion. But again, an opposing opinion is not the same thing as a baseless opinion.

The point you make is good. However, the problem is not opposing opinion but baseless opinion which seem to be a norm. Many posts are filled by simple hate feelings. It gets annoying fast, all that players/coach/GMs bashing. Again, that's very childish.

 

[Xspyrit]

have you seen a 4th liner get 1st pp ice time and score all his goals on the pp?

The disrespect of Legwand on this board makes Sens fans sound very ignorant and stupid... The guy was a 2nd overall pick and has had a fruitful career over 1000 games... He was Nashville 1st line center (even if he would have been a 2nd line C on a strong contender). Sure, he is not in his prime anymore but in case people haven't noticed, he has been signed on a short and cheap contract (yeah, 3M$ today is about the average salary). That being said, the guy gets dumped constantly because the coaching staff gives him a whooping 1:15 that their new favorite toy. Yet, Legwand leads the team in PP goals and PP points amongst forwards while Mike Hoffman has 0 freaking PP points. 61 minutes played on the PP and not a single point? Legwand played 120 minutes and has 5 goals, 5 assists. Go figure. Oh yeah, I forgot, it's probably luck. Always helpful when it fits your argument.

Look I get it, Legwand is only here for a short time and is not producing at a PPG while playing with Neil, Smith and Condra, while Mike Hoffman might be a key player for years to come... One is disliked and the other is not. One is a stop gap, the other is young. One has a defensive role, the other has an offensive role. That's all I see.

 

[heat89]

Last year's season was a train wreck, we were losing a ton, and yet a GDT against Tampa last January had almost 1000 posts.

These boards were super-active when we were losing last year. We've lost a LOT of regular posters.

Why is that?

 

[Hossa18]

Judging from only the highlights, Canes seem to have scored on their only 3 scoring chances (and lucky/garbage goals too) while the Sens had plenty of great scoring chances but Khudobin was extremely good. And apparently Sens had 3 posts? Still not as worse as last few years though in terms of posts.

lol at the game-cast (shots location) :

http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/gamecast?gameId=400564057

Another 1-goal game Loss, that's pretty incredible... Anyone has the 1-goal games record updated?



What are you talking about? Sens have a Points% of 0.500 and are 23rd. I think they are lucky this year, on pace for 82 pts and the 8th overall pick. I say lucky because they are in no way, shape or form a terrible team but they keep losing that 1-goal games, and the luck is that the upcoming draft is probably the best since 2003. Even luckier if they manage to get an elite top-line Center prospect, because that's the only key piece missing (and with an upgrade on Methot as a #2)

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



That doesn't accomplish as much as you think... Every year, you will always have "scapegoats" on a non-contender. The great/good players of today are your garbage players of tomorrow... Find me some negative posts about Greening from 2011-13, there wasn't much

In 2-3 years, a player like MacArthur could be among those... maybe even before. I have seen that on HF already, several times.



What is "embarrassing"? Are you getting embarrassed at school by your Leafs/Habs friends? Who cares? Hockey is not that important.



There's no "tank to embrace", it's just a developmental season and Sens are not ready to join the dance. It was possible to make the playoffs but more like 50/50, more things needed to "go right". They could still make then with a long winning streak but like I thought at the beginning, I'm not sure it will materialize this year. Even if they make it, I don't think they would beat the Bolts, Wings or Penguins anyway (unless they would get lucky enough to get the Habs or Isles? And even then, not sure they would beat those teams), so getting a top-10 pick in this draft might end up being a great blessing in disguise.



Legwand has 19 pts and is on pace for 35 pts... I have never seen a 4th liner put up 35 pts, even when the scoring was much higher. Or maybe we would need to go back 25 years ago when I was not following the NHL

I've never seen a 4th liner get top pp minutes either

 

[operasen]

With Neil drawing back in, it will affect more than one line I`ll bet. May set the need to send Lazar back or Pageau down. Both will hurt the team and also their development.

And yes, give Prince a shot alongside Pageau and Stone. Let`s get some more magic going.

 

[Icelevel]

With Neil drawing back in, it will affect more than one line I`ll bet. May set the need to send Lazar back or Pageau down. Both will hurt the team and also their development.

And yes, give Prince a shot alongside Pageau and Stone. Let`s get some more magic going.

Lazar was lined up with turris and macarthur at practice. greening probably being sent to bingo.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Legwand has looked sooooo much better without Neil and smith. I say this all the time. Sorry.