GDT: Senators @ Devils - 7PM Dec-21 - Winter Is Coming Edition - TSN5 (and nowhere else)

[Micklebot]

I don't think I've ever sworn at my tv as much as I did last night. I packed it in after 2.

Anderson has to be better.

Far too many soft plays with sticks.

He wasn't great but I have a hard time pinning the loss on his play. Like you say, to many soft plays and stick checks, combined with missed assignments and poor reads. Add that to the chances we did get not going in and you have a pretty bleak outlook. We can't expect Anderson to only allow one goal a game.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

11 -7 is just awful. Cant get 4 lines rolling and everyone seems confused what to do.

Nick Paul playing 3 minutes per period would not have changed anything last night.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

[Mod QDP]

This team can't play D at all. The team looked completely unprepared despite plenty of rest and Jersey having played last night.

How in the world does he deserve it. This team is a disaster.

They struggle to get the puck out of their D zone, at times, and when they do, they chip it out to neutral ice, giving it back to the opposition, inviting them to re-enter and try again.

This is so obviously not working, and has to be fixed asap.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

This ain’t no rebuild

Then what is it?

 

[SensFactor]

I was at the game last night. Probably 1 out 20 Sens fans in the building visiting from Ottawa. My thoughts:

1. NJ fans are mainly polite and friendly. A few came up and talked to me and introduced themselves.
2. The prudential center is really nice! Hope the new Sens arena, whenever it is built, is as nice.
3. We are damn soft. Lajoie, Dzingel, Ceci, Ryan, Paajjarvi were some of the big culprits last night. IMO Lajoie needs to go back to the AHL. Kid was getting manhandled last night.
4. Anderson was very average. That 3rd goal was brutal. However, our D were pillars last night too, no help on some of those goals. Not sure why Boro is even on this team.
5. Boucher IMO is definately on the hot seat... The team looked extremely disjointed. No strategy for attack, dzone coverage is still a joke and some PPs we didn't even have a shot on net. I like Boucher but whatever he is trying to teach the team, they not listening anymore..
6. We have some young guys with tons of upside but they need to get bigger and stronger. White, Tkachuk and Chabot need to add muscle.
7. Duchene was the best player on the ice for the Sens. Hall was the best player on the ice for both teams. Hall is f***ing fast.

 

[Micklebot]

Nick Paul playing 3 minutes per period would not have changed anything last night.

The problem with running a 7-11 system little to do with the 4th line, it has to do with the top 3 lines not being able to keep up the pace, and the D pairings going through a blender. Shortening the bench can make sense late in a game, but starting the game off one man down up front, on the front end of a back to back no less, is asking for problems. We have a young group of D that need to have some consistency, not adapt to a merry-go-round of partners.

Why the heck do we need both Boro and Harpur? It really doesn't make sense. I get going with 7 d when you have different guys each adding something unique to the mix, but what we are doing defies logic.

Serious question, when's the last time a team had legitimate success running 7-11 as frequently as we do?

 

[NyQuil]

Doesn’t Tampa Bay run a 7-11?

 

[bert]

He wasn't great but I have a hard time pinning the loss on his play. Like you say, to many soft plays and stick checks, combined with missed assignments and poor reads. Add that to the chances we did get not going in and you have a pretty bleak outlook. We can't expect Anderson to only allow one goal a game.

No but he has been terrible at so many key points this season. Yeah sure this team gives up alot of shots and he makes alot of saves but how many times does he let early goals in on the road so the team is chasing the game? How many times has the team come back to tie or within one goal and he immediately lets a goal in. He always gets scored on after the team scores (which is not only on him but thats when they need a save), I really think if anyone is going to give anything of value for him they should trade him. They arent making the playoffs this year and he is going to hand cuff the team financially from actually going and getting a real starting goalie that can play into when this core is any good.

He also asked for a trade last year and seems to always be involved in drama. Pretty tired of watching him stare down his teammates after he gets scored on to. This team has been incredibly loyal to him at every turn, when I saw he asked for a trade I really didnt want him around the young players anymore.

 

[Larionov]

Good point on Lajoie - when he is moving his feet well he's really good, but when he's not his lack of size and strength become a serious liability. Now, there have been defencemen his size in the NHL who have thrived - Brian Rafalski and a guy who used to wear 65 for us come to mind - but they have to be using their mobility and sticks constantly.

The problem with sending Lajoie to the AHL is that you end up giving his ice time to a guy like Falk, who is a replacement level spare part. Given that this is a rebuild, after all, we may just have to live with nights like last night when the youth of Lajoie, Tkachuk, and White to an extent shows up in a glaring fashion.

 

[branch]

Full rebuilds take a long time. Our rebuild in 2011 was good enough to get us into the playoffs twice then miss. Followed by repeated joining and missing the playoffs , new coaches, different players. Eventually you can patch your team so many times until you need to restart.

Teams like Colorado and Winnipeg were made fun of for years being a bottom team but finally getting the benefit from it.

Frustration from this type of rebuild is because it's something many fans haven't gone through before. All teams do it though, in every major sport.

On paper we were a good team last year, but we played like ****. We were also spending and playing like ****. People expected Melnyk to continue spending while the team was playing like ****. This year we're playing hard and playing as a team, but we're young and it's ok for young guys to make mistakes! This is the time to make them.

Not a rebuild

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[branch]

I just don't feel that this is a rebuild at all. This is all about an owner trying to ice a team below the cap floor and rake in as much as he can for as long as he can. A rebuild imply s we are building towards something and I just do not see what the plan is here but to pay as little as possible for as long as possible.

Thank you

 

[Mr Hat]

says the poster that can't define what stage of rebuild we're in.

Stage 1 - Trade great players for good ones.

Stage 2 - Boro video, waive assistant captain, cut costs, alienate fans.

Stage 3 - ???

Stage 4 - contender

I'm pretty sure we're on stage 3.