Sens Writer: Senators Lose to Blues in 8th Straight Road Game

you are seeing this team for what they realy are now, without out of this world lights out Goaltending, they barely pass as a NHL team.

CLB is winning 5-2 vs those same Blues that spanked then sens and will have 40 points tied with OTT if they hold on, DET is winning 3-1 and would have 38 points, just 2 back of OTT with a win, OTT needs to get their heads out of their asses because there is zero margin of error. OTT got 5 teams within 2 points of them.

in the end i see OTT ending up in the bottom 10 of the league, when the 2nd half of the season starts and games become much more difficult they will crumble because they have horrible defense.

remember when TBL had Vasi miss like 2 months+ last season and yet still was in the top 3 in division, good teams win without their #1G.

I see the all seeing genius is back at work. After really seeing no positive takes on the Senators, ever, are you really a Sens fan or just trolling the thread? It seems like you don't like this team. So why are you here?

Thank you for continuing to do the blogs. Always an interesting read.

Forsberg either plays hot or cold, where he will either win you or lose you the game. While it is not great that the first two goals were the result of breakaways, a save on one of the plays would have been helpful. Given that this team plays a more sound defensive game, they just need a goalie who can stop the pucks that should be stopped. At the moment, that goalie is Merilainen and I wouldn't be surprised if he is the backup next year. Ullmark is the real deal at number one, despite a challenging start to the year.

As for the forward group, the team doesn't quite seem to have the right mix. As I've said before, I wouldn't be surprised if the long term center lineup is Stutzle-Pinto-Greig.

This team seems poised to fight it out for the last playoff spot this year. To achieve much more, they need another top 4D - RHD and another scoring winger.

Zeev Buium is a beauty. I really wanted Sens to take him over Yakemchuk..... let's see what Carter does now after being snubbed by Team Canada.

Well.
DJ Green now can't play Hamonic so that takes care of that. Unless somehow he thinks Hamonic in knee brace and crutches is better than JBD.

Merileinen shouldn't come out of the net until he lays an egg. I just don't get this coach sometimes. If it works. Leave it.

Just when you think this team has turned a corner, they have fallen back into their ugly ways. I treated the Dallas game as kind of ‘whatever’ those types of game will happen, and the Stars have a great roster. The Blues game concerned me. You even had Brady trying to motivate them to play better with his words to the media but in the end, they played worse.

The Forsberg situation should have been addressed in the summer. He’s not a reliable backup for this club and the contract he has bothers me to no end. However, he has an expiring deal, so at least we likely won’t see him next season. That said, scoring zero goals against a weak Blues team is unacceptable.

This club needs to learn how to win games when all cylinders are not firing. It happened a couple of times in December but will need to happen a lot more if they want to make the playoffs. You will never be 100% healthy and 100% firing on all cylinders. I think Green has done some good things but he needs to figure out the consistency.

HITS keep coming - JBD helped off the ice during practice today.

Becoming more necessary to make a move for a D.

As for a backup goalie...you'd have to look for a team that is 1) out of a playoff spot right now or isn't reasonably pushing for a spot; 2)has someone as backup that could be considered an improvement on Forsberg and/or goalies that might flourish on a new team ; 3)has less than a year or two left on a contract, under 2 million per year (ideally under a million); 4)has a goalie they want to get rid of or too many goalies and 5)that might take Forsberg back.

At least 2 of those four conditions have to be met. (The taking back of Forsberg might be a huge stretch at this point.)

With those conditions:
1) Hogberg from NYI. I liked him during his brief stint here. Sens may have to take back a bad contract as part of the deal. (JGP return?)
2) Vanacek from SJ. Pricey contract but could come cheap with some salary retention
3) Vladar from Cal. Only if they aren't going to re-sign him, and only if they think they are fake contending right now. He might be part of a bigger deal, like Grieg and Forsberg for Vladar and a RHD.
4)Mrazek from Chicago. Big $$$ and the extra year make this hard but played his junior in Ottawa.
5)Spenser Knight from FLA. Only if FLA wants to get out from his contract does this make sense.
6)Lyon from Det. Sens should avoid Husso but I doubt DET makes this deal to help a rival.
7)Alex Nedeljkovic from Pitt. Extra year hurts but intriging. Might work for the pens.

Sens could also take a flyer on Reimer or Primeau. But only if cheap.

Personally...I think they should roll with Leevi.

HITS keep coming - JBD helped off the ice during practice today.

Becoming more necessary to make a move for a D.

As for a backup goalie...you'd have to look for a team that is 1) out of a playoff spot right now or isn't reasonably pushing for a spot; 2)has someone as backup that could be considered an improvement on Forsberg and/or goalies that might flourish on a new team ; 3)has less than a year or two left on a contract, under 2 million per year (ideally under a million); 4)has a goalie they want to get rid of or too many goalies and 5)that might take Forsberg back.

At least 2 of those four conditions have to be met. (The taking back of Forsberg might be a huge stretch at this point.)

With those conditions:
1) Hogberg from NYI. I liked him during his brief stint here. Sens may have to take back a bad contract as part of the deal. (JGP return?)
2) Vanacek from SJ. Pricey contract but could come cheap with some salary retention
3) Vladar from Cal. Only if they aren't going to re-sign him, and only if they think they are fake contending right now. He might be part of a bigger deal, like Grieg and Forsberg for Vladar and a RHD.
4)Mrazek from Chicago. Big $$$ and the extra year make this hard but played his junior in Ottawa.
5)Spenser Knight from FLA. Only if FLA wants to get out from his contract does this make sense.
6)Lyon from Det. Sens should avoid Husso but I doubt DET makes this deal to help a rival.
7)Alex Nedeljkovic from Pitt. Extra year hurts but intriging. Might work for the pens.

Sens could also take a flyer on Reimer or Primeau. But only if cheap.

Personally...I think they should roll with Leevi.
- GrimmdaGoalie

Not an unrealistic list.

The thing with upgrading Forsberg, it really shouldn’t be that hard to do. I’d even explore the AHL route for a quality goalie that would be had for a reasonable trade. Take some educated chances on a goalie or two for the backup role.

I like Leevi but he really should marinate in the AHL. Move on from Forsberg and Soogard and get a couple of new guys looking for opportunities.

We have seen Adin Hill get acquired for cheap and turned into a legitimate goalie. We have seen Anthony Stolarz get acquired for cheap (a couple of times) and turned into a legitimate goalie. There are bound to be a name or two out there worthy of the opportunity.

Just don’t go all Dorion and give them large contracts after going on a hot streak.

I struggle to think of any good trades this team can make as I'm not sure anything we have is enticing to the rest of the league besides people we do not want to give up.

Our depth sucks, our prospect pool is pretty empty and we don't have a lot of picks to give away. All this and our struggles are scoring, goaltending and defense.

Would have liked to see the sens claim Kaliev had the opportunity come up, as some here may remember I was a fan of his.

Would have liked to see the sens claim Kaliev had the opportunity come up, as some here may remember I was a fan of his.
- david22

Rangers claimed him. And I doubt he would have made it past one of Detroit, Columbus or Philly. And that is just in the east.

Speaking of the Rangers.

Rempe recalled. What's the over/under on games before a fine or a suspension?

when looking at things in the division, MTL has passed OTT, MTL obliterates OTT in both the G and D prospect quality category and on ice, the only place OTT beats MTL is in the top 6.

Buf is well Buf so they will be forever in the bottom. (they are cursed) and the Red Wings just dont have the players or prospect pools to compete with MTL or even OTT.

TBL and BOS have taken a step back this year only time will tell if its persistent.

Sens fans should be extremely worried that OTT may be the BUF (sorry Buf fans) of canada.

JBD got injured during practice. Top 4 d will be playing a lot.

Forsberg starts tonight.. well OTT lost already. lets hope they can get lottery luck this year and get a top 3 pick as this team is finished for the season.

At least we got a point out of this.

.500 on a 9-game round trip is acceptable. Obviously injuries are going to be an issue. Good chance for young kids to step up and earn their next contract.

Yakemchuck out week to week with injury

Jenik last night looked scared. And small. Not an NHL player, IMO

when looking at things in the division, MTL has passed OTT, MTL obliterates OTT in both the G and D prospect quality category and on ice, the only place OTT beats MTL is in the top 6.

Buf is well Buf so they will be forever in the bottom. (they are cursed) and the Red Wings just dont have the players or prospect pools to compete with MTL or even OTT.

TBL and BOS have taken a step back this year only time will tell if its persistent.

Sens fans should be extremely worried that OTT may be the BUF (sorry Buf fans) of canada.
- Mithos

when looking at things in the division, MTL has passed OTT, MTL obliterates OTT in both the G and D prospect quality category and on ice, the only place OTT beats MTL is in the top 6.

Buf is well Buf so they will be forever in the bottom. (they are cursed) and the Red Wings just dont have the players or prospect pools to compete with MTL or even OTT.

TBL and BOS have taken a step back this year only time will tell if its persistent.

Sens fans should be extremely worried that OTT may be the BUF (sorry Buf fans) of canada.
- Mithos

Wut ? You must not be familiar with the Wings prospects pool which is one of the deepest in the NHL. Axel Sandin Pellikka, Trey Augustine, Jesse Kiiskinen, Nate Danielson, Lombardi, Tuistomo, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård... to name a few.

Ottawa's had Detroit's number the last couple years. They seem to grind out the win more often than not. This was a good measuring stick for Detroit. Glad they came out on top this time. They seem like a completely different team now under McClelland... both offensively and defensively. Nice to finally see a 5 game win streak. Hopefully they can keep it going.

The only reason Ottawa is struggling at this point is because of the injuries they have. Add in Ullmark .... the number one goalie
Add in Amadio and Perron to 2nd/3rd lines .... it allows the coaching staff to properly move the roster players into proper positions.
By all metrics, Ottawa is playing a much better defensive game. But playing with your poor 2nd string and a 3rd string goalie is not ideal.

Montreal has not surpassed Ottawa unless you live in Eeyore's anti-Ottawa dream world. Ottawa just needs to get healthy. The 2 goalies in Montreal are not better then Ullmark. As for the defence .... I'll take Ottawa's top 4 over Montreal's all day long. Montreal may have Hutson, but the guy is a liability in the defensive zone (he has 30 points but is an overall -7 on the +/- ). And while a guy like Zub may be back, it will require more then just a few games to regain his past form as a top 4 d-man.
But Ottawa is falling back , not because they are a poor team (as superfan Mithos suggests) but because of injuries and the fact that their depth in the AHL and other minor leagues needs to get older. Ottawa's minor system is improving, but it will take time for our newer picks to get older. We will continue to build this foundation over the next few years as well.

this team just sucks soooo bad.

Ullmark scrolling through his contract on his phone looking for a out clause and Audlauer on the phone instead of the interview he was scheduled for asking Buttman about the league return policy.