GDT: Sens @ Stars - Tuesday, Jan 13th, 8:30pm, TSN5/RDS

This was...not good. That 2nd period.....ouch.

So waking up after that game well... I feel the exact same way since going to bed.

I think the Sens had a pretty solid game overall but again bad teams find ways to lose and the Sens are but this is all part of it.  You have to take things at face value this season and try and enjoy some of the smaller things and younger players that are starting to find their own... so lets really try to focus on some positives.

Cowen I thought had a monster game, he was great.  He and Ceci have really found something on that 2nd pairing and hopefully it continues.  Gryba had another solid game... does he ever have a bad game?  Karlsson is starting to become a little more assertive (got an awful penalty for it) and not forcing things that are not there.  Real happy with him.  Methot took a huge hit (which IMO is a good thing) and came back to play 20 plus minutes, that's a positive.  Phillips.... esh.  Again the sooner he moves on whether that's another team or just hanging them up the better off the Sens will be.

Up front I thought Michalek had another strong game, he seems to be coming on a little and chipping in here and there.  For a 3rd, 4th line guy (even if he's over paid) he is still capable obviously of contributing, you just hope it continues.  I thought Zibanejad's and Turris' line were both pretty good, controlled the puck and play most of the night, same with Pageau's line.  I am not sure what they are doing with Lazar but if he's going to be used sparingly like that I would guess he goes back to Edmonton just before game 41 for him, if the Sens throw in the towel I would suspect they want to get a look at other guys as well because some bodies are going to be impossible to move.  Liked Condra again too, they should probably look to resign him on a 2 year deal if possible.  He has shown everyone this year even if he's not given a spot at camp he's going to take one somehow, he did the same last year too.

In nets, Lehner.... he's having a rough go.  You can tell in his body language and being deep in his crease that he's just not there.  I don't want to say this has been a lost year for him but this has been a lost year for him so far.  Maybe it's the kid, maybe it's not getting enough starts (2 in 6 weeks), maybe it's the flu, maybe it's all of them combined but there's no hiding the fact he has not played well.  We should probably stop talking about trading Anderson at this point, haha.

Overall it was a decent game but again you have to take things at face value, they lost, they are going to continue to lose until Murray makes a move, and it's becoming more and more apparent and IMO pretty obvious this team is not making the playoffs.  10 points out at Thanksgiving and you are out of the playoff race let alone 10 points out at the all-star break.  Give it up Murray, cut some dead weight, rid the Sens of the players like Greening and Phillips somehow, maybe move a Legwand if possible or Weircoich.  The one thing he should not under any circumstances be doing is making a move to save the season, it's lost.

I hope this game was a wake up call for murry to get off his butt and do whatever it takes to fix this. Trade early and trade often!!!!

SeawaySensFan wrote:I hope this game was a wake up call for murry to get off his butt and do whatever it takes to fix this. Trade early and trade often!!!!

It should be a wake-up call, the standings are usually a good indicator of where your team stands as well. Last year he took one last shot despite many knowing the Sens were going no where... most people said "sure why not? No harm, they didn't give up much". This year he better make the right moves because this is going to start (it already has) to trickle down to the Sens bottom line.

Right now the Sens and the entire organization are trying to sell an educated fan base that this is a playoff team... it's not. It's insulting that they are trying to BS everyone the way they are. Sell the teams youth, sell the teams rebuild, sell the things that people can and will get excited for. Don't sell the BS because people see right through it and Melnyk is about as transparent as they come.

As for a trade... a trade won't solve anything this year but everyone on that team and every single fan of the team has been waiting since the end of Oct for the other shoe to drop. They may have to wait a while longer now because the Sens will be sellers and that's a completely different position to be dealing from than where Murray has been the last few months. You go from weakness to strength because once there is nothing to lose then you can't really lose a trade, long or short term. (this doesn't take into account complete stupidity if it happens).

It's little things that hurt this team's rhythm. Turris goes into the offensive zone and there are two guys on him, but he doesn't panic and dump the puck off, giving it away, he holds onto it for that extra moment, daring defenders to do something about it and he usually walks away with the puck and makes a play. Then you look at Zibanejad come in and there are only two options for him most of the time - dump it and try to get it back or swing wide and circle the net, usually throwing it out front.

These are the minute things that can be the difference between winning and losing games. Turris recognizes that he has talent and he has the support of at least MacArthur in there and he makes a strong play, Zibanejad doesn't trust himself to make a play like that it looks like.

Last night, Zibanejad showed that he could do it - when he was on the PP and the puck skittered off to the far wall. He was in a race with two Dallas guys and he shielded the puck from them using his frame, won the battle and made a nice play, but I feel like that's the exception, not the rule.

Shockingly, the other C that I find shelters the puck beautifully is Pageau. Now...Zibanejad will develop instincts as he gets older and more experienced, but he needs to be watching and learning from Turris.

Just a random thing I was thinking about when I went to bed.

This explains everything. You're welcome.

http://www.brobible.com/sports/article/maxim-model-jenna-jenovich-used-boobs-distract-ottawa-senators/