GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ New Jersey Devils :: 7:30pm ET :: Wed. Dec. 18th, 2013

NEELY wrote:
Spezza always plays well off the hop for a new coach... clock work.  

Anderson was out for 24 games last year fyi, that's 1/2 the season.  MacLean is not to blame for this mess and like I said Spezza isn't going to get another coach in Ottawa.  6 in 9 years is enough.

I'm not blaming MacLean just saying he's had good goaltending in the past 2 years to cover up for this team taking too many penalties and having a bad PK. If our goalie doesn't bring his A game, we are SOL.

Anderson was outstanding when he did play, he single handedly beat Montreal since they ran circles around us for most of the games. Bishop and Lehner filled in and were damn good when they did.

All coaches need good goaltending, it's just the way it is. You need a guy you can count on. Is MacLean without fault? Absolutely not but his Jack Adams had everything to do with his team and the coaches around him including himself... goaltenders are included in that. He got them all on the same page though which is impossible to do with Spezza, that's my point in this whole thing.

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:MacLean's made some deranged decisions this year.  I maintain that he went Dung for brains at one point.

I think it's pretty clear that he's sending a message up to his leadership group very gradually.  First it was the obvious guys you could scratch... then it was a guy like Cowen and Conacher... all the sudden Methot was scratched, now he's essentially calling Spezza out by name in the media.  MacLean has tried EVERYTHING to get Spezza going even at the cost of the guys who are playing well like MacArther (who is struggling now).  I don't want to say he's given up but what other options are there?  People are so quick to jump on the coach like they know better... seriously at this point what options does Paul MacLean have?  

Again, Methot missed a lot of time with a terrible flu. He couldn't have gone back to back - or why bother?

Could be that too but Methot wasn't happy about it so there is obviously something there.

Meh, he's competitive, but he'll play tonight, so he can take out his unhappiness on the Florida Panthers.

Turris was on a long cold streak not too long ago. So was Ryan. Karlsson -- according to PMac -- plays for both teams; on the good days "he plays more for us than them" but there have been *MANY* bad nights. You guys (and by that I mostly mean NEELY) have very short memories. Except when you try to gloat about something you said 1 year or two ago. Look at your friggin' posts count -- how many "wrong" opinions do you ever bring up later on?

The problems with this team are not one player.

shabbs wrote:I'm not sure why PMac said all that to the press. I can get that he's just as frustrated as we are. Maybe he's been saying that to the room and just got fed up that it was not clicking. Not sure. Has he lost the room?

Any coincidence that PMac and the leadership core (plus Karlsson) are not at practice?

NEELY wrote:So does Phillips, so does a lot of other guys.  Methot wasn't benched yesterday because he was sick, there is something else going on there.  There are some bad signs with Methot off the ice and that's all I will say on that.

"Forest" NEELY.

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:I'm not sure why PMac said all that to the press. I can get that he's just as frustrated as we are. Maybe he's been saying that to the room and just got fed up that it was not clicking. Not sure. Has he lost the room?

Any coincidence that PMac and the leadership core (plus Karlsson) are not at practice?  

Suggesting that something is up? Changing of the guard?

  

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:I'm not sure why PMac said all that to the press. I can get that he's just as frustrated as we are. Maybe he's been saying that to the room and just got fed up that it was not clicking. Not sure. Has he lost the room?

Any coincidence that PMac and the leadership core (plus Karlsson) are not at practice?  

Suggesting that something is up? Changing of the guard?

  

Might as well trade him if you're gonna strip him of the C. They're probably having a really serious talk though.

wprager wrote:Turris was on a long cold streak not too long ago.  So was Ryan.  Karlsson -- according to PMac -- plays for both teams; on the good days "he plays more for us than them" but there have been *MANY* bad nights.  You guys (and by that I mostly mean NEELY) have very short memories.  Except when you try to gloat about something you said 1 year or two ago.  Look at your friggin' posts count -- how many "wrong" opinions do you ever bring up later on?

The problems with this team are not one player.

Turris still plays a good 2-way game when he's not scoring. Ryan is a monster most of the time when he's not scoring - at least back checking and hitting. Karlsson gives way more than he takes away.

The culprits on the team are Michalek, Spezza, Anderson and up until recently Cowen.

Sprinkle in the fact that Smith can never be counted on for offense and Greening's at 3 goals and you literally don't have a bottom six that can score. It's hilarious. You want to score? DON'T put the 3rd or 4th line on, because they simply will not.

NEELY wrote:This isn't on MacLean at all.  Last year he could coach, this year he has Spezza.  Guys going up and down is an organizational decision as well not just the coach.

Either way, Spezza is the player than needs to head out next and whether you are a Spezza fan or not there is no way you can deny the idea that his time in Ottawa is more than likely up.

BS. The Coach is very much part of the leadership group and his decision making this year has been horrible. He was making questionable decisions last year as well, but most of them worked out and we kept saying "Trust the 'stache". Well, guess what, the 'stache is not always right.

Is Karlsson dipsy-doodling his way from behind the goal through the crease attributed to Spezza's poor leadership on-ice?
Is Neil taking a bad penalty or starting a fight when they are on an odd-man rush on Spezza?
What about Chris Phillips on the PP (where he can barely hold the line on anything harder than a pass *I* could make)? Did Spezza put him there?
Is #19 responsible for #89 playing ahead of Zibanejad and Pageau and a few others?
Anderson having one of the lowest SV% on the PK of all goalies?
Letting the first shot of the game in (Lehner has now done it at least twice, Anderson probably 4-5 times)?

I *wish* they would move Spezza just so you could see it's not a one-player problem.

It's not a 1 player problem Prags, but tell me truthfully if you think they'll a)re-sign Spezza and b)if you think he's worth the money and commitment we have tied up in him.

If you think there are other areas that need addressing, you go after some of those holes in this trade. Say...a right handed, veteran D-man, or a young buck to play on Zibanejad's wing, or a high first rounded.

This is the time to fill some of the holes on this team by trading an asset that won't be an asset for that much longer.

Pull a Gillooly on Spezza and have him on LTIR for a bit.. then we'll see...



I kid... I kid...

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:I'm not sure why PMac said all that to the press. I can get that he's just as frustrated as we are. Maybe he's been saying that to the room and just got fed up that it was not clicking. Not sure. Has he lost the room?

Any coincidence that PMac and the leadership core (plus Karlsson) are not at practice?  

Pretty disappointing. Bobby Ryan is at practice, though.

tim1_2 wrote:Mac has done some weird things, for sure, but we also aren't privy to the entire story.  There are always things going on behind closed doors that we don't know about.  

I'm not going to throw Mac under the bus yet, as some guys are doing great under him.  

He did some Dung-for-brains moves last year but they mostly worked out. No-one has been able to explain JOB who, at one point, led the forwards on this team in scoring.

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:MacLean's made some deranged decisions this year.  I maintain that he went Dung for brains at one point.

I think it's pretty clear that he's sending a message up to his leadership group very gradually.  First it was the obvious guys you could scratch... then it was a guy like Cowen and Conacher... all the sudden Methot was scratched, now he's essentially calling Spezza out by name in the media.  MacLean has tried EVERYTHING to get Spezza going even at the cost of the guys who are playing well like MacArther (who is struggling now).  I don't want to say he's given up but what other options are there?  People are so quick to jump on the coach like they know better... seriously at this point what options does Paul MacLean have?  

MacArthur is struggling now? He's had three pointless streaks (longer than 1 game) this season. The current one he's on (5 games) is the longest, true, but he's been playing with Spezza longer than that. Also, his first such streak was 4 games, happened at the 3rd game of the season.

I believe MacArthur was put on Spezza's line on Dec. 3 -- the game against Florida. He scored 5 points in the next 4 games, and since then has gone pointless in 5.

You think maybe he's just a bit of a streaky player?

SpezDispenser wrote:Meh, he's competitive, but he'll play tonight, so he can take out his unhappiness on the Florida Panthers.

Ryan also didn't sound happy about having the 8th highest ice time over a couple games, recently. He kind of went back and re-stated what he said to make it sound more palatable, but the first quotes I read weren't very positive.