Senators not entering panic mode, yet
In a different era, with a different coach, the Ottawa Senators would have been back on the ice Tuesday.
The scheduled day off would have been eliminated in a flash, likely accompanied by an expletive-laden dressing room message from the coach to the players.
The old-school approach might also have meant something along the lines of a 90-minute skate without pucks. That was then, this is now. Instead, Senators coach Guy Boucher allowed his team time Tuesday for some sober second thoughts about the mess of Monday’s 8-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, where the Senators handed out chances like, well, they were giving out candy.
“Our work ethic was not like usual,” Boucher said immediately following the debacle. “Our structure was not like usual. Our paying the price was not like usual. Our sharpness with the puck was not usual. Our compete level wasn’t high enough to win the game against anybody. When that happens, you’re basically opening the door for the other team to take over and that’s what they did. They totally deserved the game.”
There is no panic. Yet. There will always be the odd clunker in a long season — the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins have already lost 10-1, 7-1 and 7-1 this season — and the Senators have registered at least one point in 10 of their opening dozen games.
They’re also blessed to be playing in a division where only two of eight squads — the Tampa Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs — have won more games than they’ve lost.
Come Wednesday, though, the Senators should expect a loud, barking, not so subtle workout from the coach about fundamentals, in preparation for Thursday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings.
The breakdowns begin at the top. Captain Erik Karlsson was on the ice for the first seven Montreal goals. He sported a plus/minus of minus 6, the worst of his career. (He has had three previous minus 4 nights during his career, the latest coming on Feb. 25, 2016, in a 5-3 loss to Vancouver).
“We can’t get too low when things are not going your way, same as we don’t get too high when things are going too well for us,” Karlsson said.
Still, Monday’s defensive breakdown wasn’t an isolated event.
The Senators went into the game having given up eight goals in their previous two games and 19 goals in their previous five games. That’s extremely un Boucher-like.
The coach acknowledges being confused about why his team has strayed so often from the textbook at home, a situation he describes as “the same recurring theme.”
Witharecordof2-2-4atCanadian Tire Centre, the Senators have registered only one point per game. Points are precious whenever and wherever you can them.
“What’s been killing us at home is we’re trying to make a show, with these wide, long east-west passes, and through guys instead of keeping it simple,” said Boucher. “We opened up the floodgates (against Montreal) and we know what happens when you do that against anybody.”
The schedule becomes far more taxing in mid-November and December.
After playing host to Detroit Thursday and Vegas on Saturday, the Senators head to Sweden for a pair of games against Colorado on Nov. 10 and 11.
They return for home games against Pittsburgh on Nov. 16 and 18, but then comes a stretch where Senators play 10 of 11 contests on the road.