GAME DAY: New York Rangers @ Ottawa Senators :: 7:30pm ET :: Tue. Mar. 18th, 2014

LeKing wrote:I can't stand Philips and Chris Neil on the ice this season. It's disgusting.

Again, everyone on the Sens aside from a very select few cant find their roles on the team and have struggled. Until everyone is pulling in the same direction and there is a clear identity everyone will continue to look awful. For the Sens to move forward they need to move Spezza.

SpezDispenser wrote:Good Christ what an awful game by Phillips and Lehner.  Horrible.

People even suggesting Lehner should take blame this year or this game or any game for the most part are looking for a scape goat. A 22 year old "backup" is in no way responsible for what has happened.

NEELY wrote:

LeKing wrote:I can't stand Philips and Chris Neil on the ice this season. It's disgusting.

Again, everyone on the Sens aside from a very select few cant find their roles on the team and have struggled.  Until everyone is pulling in the same direction and there is a clear identity everyone will continue to look awful.  For the Sens to move forward they need to move Spezza.

It's one thing to struggle but when you have an A or C on your jersey and are pretty much either invisible or too visible don't be surprised if the rest of the team don't GAF.
Amazing how lifeless this team is without Alfie.

Neil is just awful now. I'm not one to say things like this, especially with heart and soul guys, but he is just like a Colton Orr basically

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Good Christ what an awful game by Phillips and Lehner.  Horrible.

People even suggesting Lehner should take blame this year or this game or any game for the most part are looking for a scape goat.  A 22 year old "backup" is in no way responsible for what has happened.

Nonsense. You get the start, you have to be better than that. The team is a mess, I get it, he still needs to be miles better than he was tonight - and recently.

LeKing wrote:

NEELY wrote:

LeKing wrote:I can't stand Philips and Chris Neil on the ice this season. It's disgusting.

Again, everyone on the Sens aside from a very select few cant find their roles on the team and have struggled.  Until everyone is pulling in the same direction and there is a clear identity everyone will continue to look awful.  For the Sens to move forward they need to move Spezza.

It's one thing to struggle but when you have an A or C on your jersey and are pretty much either invisible or too visible don't be surprised if the rest of the team don't GAF.
Amazing how lifeless this team is without Alfie.

Again the character of the team is gone and the identity went with it.

Neil... you are talking about a 4th line winger, he's limited in what he can do. He can't fight every single game but hey, you need more from him no question.

The Sens have cancer right now and once again, I keep saying it but you need to move Spezza before this team can turn the corner and build a new identity and form character needed.

SpezDispenser wrote:

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Good Christ what an awful game by Phillips and Lehner.  Horrible.

People even suggesting Lehner should take blame this year or this game or any game for the most part are looking for a scape goat.  A 22 year old "backup" is in no way responsible for what has happened.

Nonsense.  You get the start, you have to be better than that.  The team is a mess, I get it, he still needs to be miles better than he was tonight - and recently.

You can blame that one on MacLean. Lehner is a 22 year old goaltender who has lost all confidence playing behind a team with absolutely no character. Everyone needs to be better but the last players I am going to blame are the ones that in their early and mid 20's.

The leadership 'core' we have is old and rotten. It's not just Spezza, that's for sure. There's clearly very little leadership on this team. Murray's in deep this summer lol

Ev wrote:Neil is just awful now. I'm not one to say things like this, especially with heart and soul guys, but he is just like a Colton Orr basically

Maybe, you could very well be right. That said this team needs to build around Turris, Karlsson, Lehner, Cowen, Ryan, etc, etc, etc. Until Spezza is moved talking about moving anyone else is totally pointless.

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

NEELY wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:Good Christ what an awful game by Phillips and Lehner.  Horrible.

People even suggesting Lehner should take blame this year or this game or any game for the most part are looking for a scape goat.  A 22 year old "backup" is in no way responsible for what has happened.

Nonsense.  You get the start, you have to be better than that.  The team is a mess, I get it, he still needs to be miles better than he was tonight - and recently.

You can blame that one on MacLean.  Lehner is a 22 year old goaltender who has lost all confidence playing behind a team with absolutely no character.  Everyone needs to be better but the last players I am going to blame are the ones that in their early and mid 20's.

I'm on the side of MacLean having a terrible year this year. Reeds and Cameron were even worse. They lost the room, couldn't motivate the team, completely Dung their pants on what system they wanted. Was it puck possession or was it an aggressive forecheck (lol) or a defence first (lol)? All bad...all should go except MacLean. Get Richardson in here, I doubt he sees his daughter that much anyway if she's in university.

NHL coaches do not lose players in their early 20's just making their way into the NHL.

If you want to know what I believe has happened, I think Spezza has asked for a move (again) and there was more then some smoke to those trade rumours at the deadline. The team is playing leaderless, without a captain, and with vets that don't want to be there. Trickles down from there. IMO I think everyone has given up on Spezza and thus this season.

The team was close to perfect this year without Spezza, with him they have been awful. The best hockey the Sens have played in the last 2 seasons were all without Spezza.

I'll really miss Spezza's offense though. Even through this horrific year, he must still lead the team in points. The other parts of his game I won't miss, but we have precious little scoring talent as it is - I hope Murray can make a trade that solidifies us and ads a power forward who can actually score.

I'm nervous and excited about this off-season - more nervous right now.

NEELY wrote:NHL coaches do not lose players in their early 20's just making their way into the NHL.

If you want to know what I believe has happened, I think Spezza has asked for a move (again) and there was more then some smoke to those trade rumours at the deadline.  The team is playing leaderless, without a captain, and with vets that don't want to be there.  Trickles down from there.  IMO I think everyone has given up on Spezza and thus this season.

The team was close to perfect this year without Spezza, with him they have been awful.  The best hockey the Sens have played in the last 2 seasons were all without Spezza.

One way or the the other, the coaches message was lost this year - and that runs deeper than Spezza without question.

Wait a minute, we're still trying to blame spezza for each loss? Cool. Let's see how many teams come back from Cussing backbreaking goals we seem to give up in a short span. Another 3 goals in under 4 minutes at the end of the 2nd period. At that time it was 2-2. Wtf happened?

That tying goal was terrible (lehner/karlsson), that third goal was a terrible pass by phillips, that fourth goal was a deflection that I wish lehner could have still had, that fifth goal was a tip-in. This team is so Cussing fragile. No team let's opponents score easier goals than the sens.

So 5-2 and then it turns into a gong show. Maybe some life with michalek's goal but phillips with a brutal turnover to seal the deal.

What is this system they're trying to play that always results in turnovers? Sens looked great first half of the game. Such a jekyll and Hyde team. My synopsis? Too much leeway with veterans, Maclean is trying to fill a circle with a square peg. The coaching strategy has gotta change. What the Diddle was that Dung?

Btw how are any of the 4 goals allowed in the 2nd period spezza's fault? How about that shorthanded goal? It's not a deep rooted problem we all think it is, we just don't have good enough players nor do we have the right system

SpezDispenser wrote:I'll really miss Spezza's offense though.  Even through this horrific year, he must still lead the team in points.  The other parts of his game I won't miss, but we have precious little scoring talent as it is - I hope Murray can make a trade that solidifies us and ads a power forward who can actually score.

I'm nervous and excited about this off-season - more nervous right now.

Who gives a f***? This is a none playoff team with Spezza and I'll bet you any amount of money and I'll bet everything I have that they can be a none playoff team without him too.

The Sens are a better team without Spezza, it's been proven. Would rather see them lose a game 2-1, be working and building towards something than the crap everyone has been handed this year.

Show me the PPG guys in Boston. Show me that all offense, one dimensional center in St.Louis. LA has how many players like Spezza? Players like Spezza are the reasons teams don't win so that offense you love is a mirage. Get over it because it doesn't win hockey games.

Michallica wrote:Btw how are any of the 4 goals allowed in the 2nd period spezza's fault? How about that shorthanded goal? It's not a deep rooted problem we all think it is, we just don't have good enough players nor do we have the right system

No one is blaming Spezza for the loss. The direction of the team and the way it should be being built is, right now on Spezza because you can't have him on a team that depends on structure to succeed. The Sens are way too young to have Spezza leading the way, young teams need to learn a lot of other things before they really start to win and become contenders and to do that you need to learn how to play without the puck. Spezza being a guy that has refused to do that his entire career prevents that.

Spezza has to go before the Sens turn the corner... there are other players to build around that could one day bring Ottawa to contender status. Spezza isn't one of them.

Michallica wrote:Btw how are any of the 4 goals allowed in the 2nd period spezza's fault? How about that shorthanded goal? It's not a deep rooted problem we all think it is, we just don't have good enough players nor do we have the right system

If you can't see the Sens play and the way they are talking and the actual rumours of Spezza moving at the deadline and not come to the conclusion that the room and team is totally poisoned I am not sure what to tell you.