GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ Nashville Predators - 8:00pm ET - Thu. Oct. 9th, 2014

The most disappointing thing for me was the way we turned over the puck over and over again - both in the defensive zone and in the neutral zone.  Hard to win like that as last year showed.

Didn't we get blown out by Colorado and Philly in the first week a couple of years ago?

Probably, they can tidy up those turnovers and play a better overall game pretty quick hopefully.

as soon as Bobby Ryan is up to game speed/shape we will be good. No shots on net last night.

Yeah, the turnovers were something else last night. Gotta work on that. We got hemmed in our zone way too many times last night and gave up a crap load of shots. If they can work on that, good things will come. Not sure why but EK looked slow to me and he never seemed to want to get a huge slapper off, was always a quick one. Not sure if he was trying something new or what. Lots to take away and work on.

GO SENS GO.

lol

@TSNSimmer: Sens need to build some lines that can play two way hockey. Mac/Turris/Chiasson. Michalek/Legwand/Stone. Hoffman/Lazar/Condra. Rest follow!

Ev wrote:Didn't we get blown out by Colorado and Philly in the first week a couple of years ago?

I was there and I was pissed. Dash Riprock was OK with it.

shabbs wrote:Yeah, the turnovers were something else last night. Gotta work on that. We got hemmed in our zone way too many times last night and gave up a crap load of shots. If they can work on that, good things will come. Not sure why but EK looked slow to me and he never seemed to want to get a huge slapper off, was always a quick one. Not sure if he was trying something new or what. Lots to take away and work on.

GO SENS GO.

Being more poised when they had possession could have covered up a lot of other issues. A lot of missed opportunities because of bungled odd-man rushes and missing the net (as usual).

Ev wrote:lol

@TSNSimmer: Sens need to build some lines that can play two way hockey. Mac/Turris/Chiasson. Michalek/Legwand/Stone. Hoffman/Lazar/Condra. Rest follow!

I guess Bobby Ryan is on the 4th line or is he in the press box? LOL

Ev wrote:
yeah Neil had energy and knows his job - go as fast as you can to the net. He did that. I don't see a problem here. 6 players vs 5 is a lot of guys on the ice, so putting out an offensive guy with no space to maneuver might be redundant.

Pretty much any player on an NHL roster can hop over the boards and head for the crease and stand there. There were 12 others on the bench last night, so what makes Neil special? Because he wasn't as tired? Please give me one compelling (reasonable) reason why he went to Neil instead of pretty much anyone else?

I'm not saying this cost us the game, but this is the kind of boneheaded decision he's been making for a while. Someone said he only got 42 seconds, but the 42 seconds came with 52 seconds left in the game, trailing by 1 with the goalie pulled. This was the must-score-at-any-cost point in the game and you put out a guy whose #1 skill is hitting people? You need passers, shooters, people with soft hands and a nose for the net -- none of those describe Chris Neil. He goes out when you're down by a goal or two in the second period and the team is playing without emotion. He's the guy who delivers that big body check or gets into a fight to fire the boys up.

Chris Neil had one PP assist last season in nearly 45 minutes of PP ice time. Over the last three years oth his PP TOI and his PP points/60 have declined, from 2.92 to 2.59 to 1.31 last year. 1.31 points per 60 minutes of PP ice time. By comparison, Zibanejad was 3.5 last season. Greening (yes, I know he wasn't playing) was a whopping 5.54.

The time to use Neil is when there's still time left in the game for his "thing" to fire up the others. Last minute down by one he should be stapled to the bench.

i don't see your point. He's not out there to pass the puck. He's out there to stand in front of the goalie and get tips.

wprager wrote:Pretty much any player on an NHL roster can hop over the boards and head for the crease and stand there.

Apparently not. Much less in Ottawa where that element has been lacking for YEARS.

wprager wrote:Please give me one compelling (reasonable) reason why he went to Neil instead of pretty much anyone else?

See above.

You're welcome.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

shabbs wrote:Yeah, the turnovers were something else last night. Gotta work on that. We got hemmed in our zone way too many times last night and gave up a crap load of shots. If they can work on that, good things will come. Not sure why but EK looked slow to me and he never seemed to want to get a huge slapper off, was always a quick one. Not sure if he was trying something new or what. Lots to take away and work on.

GO SENS GO.

Being more poised when they had possession could have covered up a lot of other issues. A lot of missed opportunities because of bungled odd-man rushes and missing the net (as usual).

Cowen is, I'm afraid to say, largely a disaster with the puck. Thing is a grenade on his stick.

to be fair people said that about Boro and he had a decent game puck-wise

rooneypoo wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:

shabbs wrote:Yeah, the turnovers were something else last night. Gotta work on that. We got hemmed in our zone way too many times last night and gave up a crap load of shots. If they can work on that, good things will come. Not sure why but EK looked slow to me and he never seemed to want to get a huge slapper off, was always a quick one. Not sure if he was trying something new or what. Lots to take away and work on.

GO SENS GO.

Being more poised when they had possession could have covered up a lot of other issues. A lot of missed opportunities because of bungled odd-man rushes and missing the net (as usual).

Cowen is, I'm afraid to say, largely a disaster with the puck. Thing is a grenade on his stick.

Having visions of Happy Gilmore's wild and crazy slap shot...

Ev wrote:i don't see your point. He's not out there to pass the puck. He's out there to stand in front of the goalie and get tips.

In a perfect world (or a video game) the passer passes, the shooter shoots, and the screener screens. But in a real game situation sometimes the screener has to shoot or make a nifty between-the-legs pass. Point is, even if his "job" is to stand in front of the net and screen the goalie, his list of potential duties includes all the rest.

Neil is not the biggest guy out there, so he's not going to necessarily make the best screener.
He certainly doesn't have the hands or quick release of Stone for those cases where he's the closest Sen to the rebound.

About the only two arguments you can make in Neil's favor is that he is tough enough to stand in there, and they can live with him missing a few games due to injuries from a slash to the knee or ankle.

Why are you arguing the point? There is no arguing it. He's not the only one able and willing to go to the next and take the abuse -- and he is missing those other skills that may become extremely important if the play doesn't go exactly according to plan (i.e. passer passes, shooter shoots, screener screens).

Ev wrote:i don't see your point. He's not out there to pass the puck. He's out there to stand in front of the goalie and get tips.

In a perfect world (or a video game) the passer passes, the shooter shoots, and the screener screens. But in a real game situation sometimes the screener has to shoot or make a nifty between-the-legs pass. Point is, even if his "job" is to stand in front of the net and screen the goalie, his list of potential duties includes all the rest.

Neil is not the biggest guy out there, so he's not going to necessarily make the best screener.
He certainly doesn't have the hands or quick release of Stone for those cases where he's the closest Sen to the rebound.

About the only two arguments you can make in Neil's favor is that he is tough enough to stand in there, and they can live with him missing a few games due to injuries from a slash to the knee or ankle.

Why are you arguing the point? There is no arguing it. He's not the only one able and willing to go to the next and take the abuse -- and he is missing those other skills that may become extremely important if the play doesn't go exactly according to plan (i.e. passer passes, shooter shoots, screener screens).

wprager wrote:

Ev wrote:i don't see your point. He's not out there to pass the puck. He's out there to stand in front of the goalie and get tips.

In a perfect world (or a video game) the passer passes, the shooter shoots, and the screener screens.  But in a real game situation sometimes the screener has to shoot or make a nifty between-the-legs pass.  Point is, even if his "job" is to stand in front of the net and screen the goalie, his list of potential duties includes all the rest.  

Neil is not the biggest guy out there, so he's not going to necessarily make the best screener.
He certainly doesn't have the hands or quick release of Stone for those cases where he's the closest Sen to the rebound.

About the only two arguments you can make in Neil's favor is that he is tough enough to stand in there, and they can live with him missing a few games due to injuries from a slash to the knee or ankle.

Why are you arguing the point?  There is no arguing it.  He's not the only one able and willing to go to the next and take the abuse -- and he is missing those other skills that may become extremely important if the play doesn't go exactly according to plan (i.e. passer passes, shooter shoots, screener screens).

So why not put Cowen out there? I think Chiasson or Zib should have been on the ice, not Neil. Hell, I would have even put Lazar out there.