Ottawa Senators and the what ifs...

I have been very cautiously optimistic about the Ottawa Senators this season considering all the question marks going in. So far we've had some uncharacteristic starts from Fisher (Great) and Spezza (Not so Good). Cheechoo, Foligno, Shannon and Kovalev have also had a hard time producing offense. Carkner has been down right amazing and Ruutu and Neil have been pleasant surprises on offense. Our Defense seems to be turning a bit of a corner and I've actually found myself appreciating some of Brian Lee's work in his own end.

What would the Senators as a team and the players as individuals need to do to make you believers, that they can make some noise in the playoffs, this season? How long into the season before you've made your decision?

I personally think that if they can get themselves close to a .700 record by Christmas, get Spezza(goal production), Kovalev, Foligno and Regin going offensively, and get Leclaire closer to a .920 save pct and 2.5 GAA then I'll be a believer that they can at least win a couple rounds.

All I would need from the players to make me a true believer would be simply to meet their individual expectations. Simple. It never happens, though. For any team really.

You forgot to mention the huge disappointments that are Picard and Campoli. I haven't been as annoyed at a player - night in, night out - as I am at Campoli since Arvedsson's last years as a sen.

Picard has really picked up his game IMO. I think the Picard-Carkner pairing has been quite good. Campoli and Lee haven't looked too bad lately either.

I think everyone is reading way too much into spezza's lack of goal production he has been tremendously better defensively(compared to previous years) and has still put up a good amount of assists the goals will come but i would rather see him continue to work on his defensive game

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:I think everyone is reading way too much into spezza's lack of goal production he has been tremendously better defensively(compared to previous years) and has still put up a good amount of assists the goals will come but i would rather see him continue to work on his defensive game

100% agreed - but, you have to admit that when Spezza doesn't contribute offensively, there's tremendous pressure on others. Right now Fisher has taken the reigns...if he stops...

but michalek is also putting up the numbers and spezza is still setting guys up he has 12 assists in 18 games so yea his numbers are a bit low but he is still making plays in general which is what he does best i still think it is justr a matter of time until he puts it all together

If Dany Heatley was still here Spezza would probably have 20 assists by now but I still think he is playing as good as ever. Wins are cming in, so I don't worry much. I thought we wanted to have a "team" playink like one and not care about individual stats?

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:I think everyone is reading way too much into spezza's lack of goal production he has been tremendously better defensively(compared to previous years) and has still put up a good amount of assists the goals will come but i would rather see him continue to work on his defensive game

The goals dont bug me much, the 0 points in 6 games before Buffalo did though. That cant happen for stretches like that. He doesnt have to score but he does have to provide offense.

N4L wrote:
The goals dont bug me much, the 0 points in 6 games before Buffalo did though. That cant happen for stretches like that. He doesnt have to score but he does have to provide offense.

I feel the same way. Could care less if he scores another goal all year, but he has to be setting guys up so that we can score and take some pressure off our D and off Fisher's line.

What we're seeing now - I believe - is Spezza learning the finer points of playing a 2-way game, something that he probably should have taken more time to learn when he was 22 instead of 26. I think we're seeing a guy who is committed to making these adjustments and playing a better all-around game and I think we're seeing the growing pains that accompany that (less points, more hard skating, hard work, more soreness, more sacrifice etc.).

Like most other players who commit to this style a little later, it usually takes a solid year - if not more - to merge their talent with the work ethic in all three zones.

N4L wrote:

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:I think everyone is reading way too much into spezza's lack of goal production he has been tremendously better defensively(compared to previous years) and has still put up a good amount of assists the goals will come but i would rather see him continue to work on his defensive game

The goals dont bug me much, the 0 points in 6 games before Buffalo did though. That cant happen for stretches like that. He doesnt have to score but he does have to provide offense.

But if his passes aren't converted is that his fault? If you don't have to score but you have to provide offense, that just means you have to make good passes to players. The rest depends on the other players. There have been a few times where he made good passes but they were not converted.

Last few games, though, he's not been playing all that well, that much is obvious. But neither was Alfie until he had that 2-goal game. It'll come.

So back to the topic. What does the team need to do to make you a believer? When will you have made up your mind?

For me If they only score 2 goals a game for the rest of the season but are winning I'm fine. I always laugh when people say Player X isn't scoring, but he has 50 assists. That's still 50 goals the team has scored whether he did or helped someone else to.

Anyway, I'll be a believe if the continue their dominance at home (remember 2 of their 3 losses came from Pittsburgh and NJ, both of which I believe they deserved to win the games), and they are .500 on the road come Jan 1. That for me will mark that regardless of how well Heatley is playing by himself that by trading him Ottawa is now a true Team.

So Devo will the game on Wednesday be a tough one to watch being a Devils fan? Will you be hoping for an OT loss by the Sens on this one?

Cap'n Clutch wrote:So Devo will the game on Wednesday be a tough one to watch being a Devils fan? Will you be hoping for an OT loss by the Sens on this one?

Yeah an OT loss for the sens would be perfect. With that said I don't think anyone on this board can be upset with 9 points in 5 games against some of the better teams in the East. This run has the boys at TSN worrying, they are already way way off with Toronto finishing 9th ( I believe they picked TO 9th and Ottawa 10th).

How embarrassing for them should Ottawa finish at the top and Toronto so far off...I love hearing the name dropper back track.