FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-If you’re going to lose, may as well lose by six. No “we deserved better”. No “we played a good second period”. No “there are some positives to build on”. The Ottawa Senators got embarrassed on home ice, plain and simple. There has to be a worst game of the season and this one is clearly a leading contender. Perhaps the most concerning thing is that the second worst game of the year may have been the one on Saturday night in Buffalo. And when you look a little further back, four of the last five have been kind of awful.
-Last night was one of those rare nights when every single player struggled. Top players, supporting cast, goalie, fourth liners, Spartacat- everyone. Not one guy in that line up can look themselves in the mirror and be happy with the game they played. And maybe that’s a good thing. Perhaps a loss like this can serve as a bit of a wake up call for a team that was starting to get a little bit too comfortable.
-Guy Boucher is known for his detailed and thoughtful answers during his media scrums but there are times when you expect the Coach to be a little more blunt in his assessment. Yet in his post-game press conference following a 6-0 loss, Boucher was surprisingly calm and presented a variety of theories as to why his team has been struggling lately. Certainly hope he’s a little more direct with his team at practice today.
-It’s part of pro sports. You pay your money for a ticket not knowing exactly what kind of game you’re going to see. The outcome is never certain and that’s part of the fun of it. But performances like the one we saw last night are unacceptable on home ice. That stadium is full-ish of people paying good money to watch you play and to turn in that kind of effort? I dunno. It’s made that much worse when you consider the commute to and from the stadium fans had to deal with last night and that they’re in the middle of season seat renewals. The Senators play their next three games on home ice.
-After about a month and a half between starts and more than 100 days since he last played a full sixty minutes, this was probably not how Andrew Hammond drew up his return. He was sharp in the first period when the Sens struggled and kept the game close. Unfortunately the team in front of him just didn’t have it again tonight. If the rumours of a Mike Condon extension are true, there’s a good chance this may be Hammond’s last game with the team this year. While they would certainly listen to trade offers, it seems unlikely considering the one year left on his deal. Waivers and another trip to Binghamton seems most likely.
Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
Boxscore
Advanced Stats
League Standings
