BETTER, BUT LOTS TO DO
Progress report from Boucher
As the Ottawa Senators hit the road Sunday, Guy Boucher was trying to make sure they’re headed in the right direction.
Yes, there will be down time as the Senators packed their bags for one of the longest road trips of the season Saturday and headed to Vancouver to prepare to face the Canucks on Tuesday at Rogers Arena, but Boucher indicated there is still plenty of work to be done on this business trip.
Coming off their first loss at home — 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday at the Canadian Tire Centre — Boucher and his staff will continue to try to make sure they get everybody on the same page on a trip that will include stops in Calgary Friday and Edmonton on Sunday.
“Lots to do. Lots, lots, lots to do,” Boucher said when asked where he feels this team sits in an interview with Postmedia. “We’re much better at the transition game, which is my game. I’m a speed guy, transition guy, we’re better at attacking inside the dots with less perimeter offence.
“I still want more screens than what we’re doing right now. Defensively, we’ve blocked a lot of shots. Collectively, I think we’re much better than we were at the beginning of the year at being in the right places. We’re at the point we need to be better at working inside that structure, working hard to not just be there but make a difference in that position. That will take time.”
In the NHL, time is of the essence. The points you gain in October aren’t going to guarantee you a playoff spot by any stretch of the imagination, but they can’t be taken away when they’re all counted up in April which wins are paramount.
For those who have been around the Senators, the biggest difference in the approach Boucher takes has to be during practice. Sure, you can talk about him being vocal, but it has become pretty clear that he’s trying to bring home the fact that if you work hard, you’ll play harder.
“I hate practising just to get through a practice,” he said. “That’s how I am in my day and in my own life. If I do something I do it 100 per cent. When it’s over then it’s over 100 per cent. It’s either 100 per cent rest or 100 per cent work. There’s nothing in between for me.
“That’s why the guys have had some good days off up to now but when they’re on the ice, they’re working and watching video, I’m expecting to get 100 per cent of them there.”
And, if Boucher doesn’t get everything he wants then he’s quick to let the players know he’s not happy and drills have been repeated until they’re done right. That’s because he is trying to hit home that the Senators need to be hard to play against.
“I know that for me there’s big difference between working hard and being relentless and I’m after being relentless,” he said. “Every player in this league works hard or they wouldn’t be here. Every team in the league works hard.
“The difference between the winning teams and the losing teams isn’t very big. It’s a small difference. In the end, you see a 10-point difference and it’s big. The reality is in the everyday game there’s a tiny little difference and the difference is between working hard and being relentless.”
With a 3-2-0 record through five games, the Senators have had success, but they can certainly be better. So, are they getting to the point of being relentless?
“We’ve had success in the winning part but to me I’m looking at success through the eyes of process orientation,” Boucher said. “It’s how long are we consistent at what we’re trying to do on zone entries, consistent on what we’re trying to do in the neutral zone defensively.
“Right now, that’s what we’re striving for. Being consistent doesn’t mean you’re perfect. We have to watch out . ... It’s not like you’re playing golf. You’re playing golf, you’re on your own. You vs. yourself and the terrain. All you have to manage is you.
“When you play hockey, you manage yourself, your own team and then there’s the opponent and they’re good. They’re the same calibre as you and if you’re expecting to get everything right then you’re sadly mistaken.
“It takes you in a really bad direction because you don’t accept the players are going to make mistakes and that’s how it’s going to be all year.
“It’s a game of mistakes you’ve just got to limit them so you get to see most of what you’re trying to do in your identity.”
The Senators are still trying to get all the pieces in the right place.