BIG PICTURE FOR SENS
Step back and it looks better
Sport is the greatest what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business.
Forget Monday morning quarterbacks, second-guessing is a seven-day event, and with social media rages 24/7.
That miraculous, awe-inspiring 17-2-2 run by the Ottawa Senators, the one that nearly pried open the gates prematurely on the sacred playoff grounds of Sens Mile? Last week’s news.
That heartwarming story/ marketing extravaganza that was the Hamburglar had the shelf life of raw ground meat. (Although the hockey club might be looking for Andrew Hammond to crank up an encore miracle in Detroit Tuesday, for old time’s sake. Head coach Dave Cameron won’t name his starter — Hammond or Craig Anderson — until Tuesday. The Red Wings have their own goaltending issues, having given up 16 goals in their past three losses).
Ottawa fans who were giddily tossing hamburgers from the stands while the Senators blazed an unlikely path to a wild-card berth for a few precious days, grew from cranky to delirious over the course of a three-game losing streak from Thursday to Sunday. When they tossed things on the ice (pucks, burgers?) in the late stages of the Senators home ice loss to Florida, it was in disgust and frustration, not celebration. How could this happen to the feelgood story of the NHL season?
The Lost Weekend had all the earmarks of a hangover from a bad trip to Vegas.
Now ask yourself this question. If someone had said five weeks ago that the Senators would be three points out of a playoff spot at the end of March, with a game in hand on the team holding eighth-place, would you take it?
All but the most devoted of #tank enthusiasts would have leaped at the scenario.
The problem fans and players are facing is the team’s current trend arrow and perspective. If Ottawa beats the Leafs and is trending upward, all would be well in the kingdom. But the Senators fell to their archrival, sad-sack Battle of Ontario partners, and then to the pursuing Panthers. Over the past week, they are trending downward at the worst time, taking some of the shine off what had been a fun romp through the latter half of February and most of March.
For keen observers, the key to maintaining sanity is to take a large step back and find a broader perspective.
1. Keep in mind that the Senators are one of the youngest teams in the NHL, a budget team that will grow closer to being a salary cap club as players grow into earnings and responsibilities. This 2014-15 season was never supposed to be one of true contention. If they could latch onto a final playoff spot and gain a round of experience, fine. But the young players like Mark Stone, Curtis Lazar, Cody Ceci and Jean-Gabriel Pageau have already played precious minutes during a stretch drive that is going to help them in years to come.
2. Try to enjoy the ride, including unexpected twists and turns.
It’s why we love sport. Despite the slippage, the Senators are playing meaningful games in March and early April. This late winter, early spring fling remains a surprising gift. It could be worse. You could be fans of the Maple Leafs, taking consolation out of Saturday’s spoiler role, and then a return to the daily Toronto chaos with no clear vision of a future. Like the Senators players, fans would do well to try to recapture the joy of competing that made the past month such a pleasant diversion from Ottawa’s bottomless winter.
It ain’t over ’til it’s over, despite powerful urges to know beforehand. Three points to make up is a challenge, but nothing like the 14-point gap of mid-February. If it turns out the Senators need 95 points to get in, it would require the equivalent of a 4-2-1 record over their final seven while the Bruins can get there with a 3-3-0 mark. Boston has the tie-break edge with ROW (regulation and overtime wins). As the Senators showed during their carefree run toward eighth place, it’s easier being the hunter than the hunted. The Bruins would have lost in regulation time Sunday, had the Hurricanes Jeff Skinner not hit the post on a 2-on-1 break late in the third period. The games are that close.
“We still can make something out of this,” captain Erik Karlsson said, after the discouraging loss to Florida. “We’ve got seven games to go and we’re looking forward to Detroit on Tuesday.”
A single win could do wonders to cure foul moods. This team needs to go back to the formula that worked. As much as injuries allow, go with the roster and line combos that got you there. That includes another Burglar sampling.