Refs fault again?
- Fakepartofme

Nope. They played poorly.

The season is already starting to teeter the wrong way. Just slightly. .

Imo you have to either run ullmark until he gets his game or bench him and run forsberg. And let the cards fall where they do.
I thought greene was going to hold players accountable. Well ullmark has been bad... so wheres the accountabilty. But i dont mind running him for next 3 games. See if he can put it together or bench him after that

The season is already starting to teeter the wrong way. Just slightly. .

Imo you have to either run ullmark until he gets his game or bench him and run forsberg. And let the cards fall where they do.
I thought greene was going to hold players accountable. Well ullmark has been bad... so wheres the accountabilty. But i dont mind running him for next 3 games. See if he can put it together or bench him after that
- spazzbot

Getting Ullmark back on his game has to be a top priority. The question is how to do that. My preference would be to sit him after a poor to mediocre outing to have him focus on practice. If he plays well in his next start, play him two games in a row but no more than that.

during the Anderson era, OTT had actual good coaching and team defense, post Anderson era OTT has not had any NHL level coaching or defense and that includes current coach. OTT defensive system is let the other team shoot, hope you block it, hope the G can stop if you don't, hope they don't score, hope to get the puck, hope you get out of the zone with puck and hope your not to tired to attack...no team can or will win with a system like that.

Green is smith 2.0
- Mithos

Some if it was team defense with Andy, some may have been EK playing 30 minutes a game.

But when he was on his game, Andy was completely reliable. He was not letting in a stinker.

This team goes back and forth game.to game, one game the goalies let them down, the next the defence is awful. Either way, Need Ullmark to get back on his game.

It’s not yet panic button time but I expected a better effort last night facing a team at home who just played the night before. Sturt Skinner is one of the worst statistical goalies in the NHL right now and the Sens made him look like a top 10 tender. This, right after getting shutout by a minor league journeyman in Carolina.

Chabot and Zub did not have great games. I’d even go as far as I think it might be worth considering scratching Zub for JBD. Zub seems like a shell of his former self. I don’t know if the injuries are catching up with him. Everyone wants to bench Hamonic, but I feel Zub has played worse of late. It would certainly provide a shakeup for a team that looks a little complacent.

Brady has not looked like his usual self all year. The production offensively is kind of there, but he looks disinterested and downright lazy a lot of the time. He’s gliding more and not taking an extra stride or two to finish a check or fight for loose pucks. Stutzle has looked more like a leader this year, honestly.

Ullmark has not been good. I still think you run with him to get him into a groove, but patients is going to wear thin, fast. Even when he stops the puck, he looks like he doubts himself making the save.

I would like to see some more accountability from Green. Do some significant benchings, have an animated timeout, callout some guys to the media. Will it do anything? Maybe not, but it would be different than what DJ Smith was doing which was just letting these guys go through the motions.

It's approaching the quarter point of the year, and we saw Boston pull the plug on their coach. I wonder if Staios is using this time for some decisions.

Really starting to lose interest in this team ..... kind of like this team seems to be losing interest in playing hockey.

Ullmark needs to be way better. WAY better. Maybe part of it is the fact he basically did not have a training camp and was injured for a stretch of games. Maybe he just needs more repetition.
As for Brady, I have to think he is injured in some way because his game is just slow and at times he seems uninterested.

We'll win the next 5 games in November. It's fine.

I think Staios was diplomatic and calculated what he said.

I only take issue with saying we've created a identity. I think the team is far from having an identity. It takes years for a identity to be synonymous with a team.
So i hope he is not referring to the last 6 losing years and at this point a losing season, being the identity they want.

leafs lost their 7th player to injury and still is able to win while OTT keep losing and finding ways to lose with none to few injuries....

leafs lost their 7th player to injury and still is able to win while OTT keep losing and finding ways to lose with none to few injuries....
- Mithos

Are you happy with the leafs identity?

leafs lost their 7th player to injury and still is able to win while OTT keep losing and finding ways to lose with none to few injuries....
- Mithos

lEafS r tHE beSt aT SporTZ!!!11

Are you happy with the leafs identity?
- spazzbot

leafs are a regular season team, they not built for the playoffs but they make the playoffs while OTT keeps making top 10 picks and losing.

Ullmark won a Vezina on one of the strongest, most defensively-stacked and well-coached teams in league history. This is a far cry from the Ottawa dumpster-fire, with an AHL caliber defensive corps. Ottawa is where goalies go to die. How on earth was management given the green light to sign this guy to a massive contract before he ever stepped on the f#cking ice????? No one should be surprised by this. And absolutely no one should be surprised when Brady demands a trade in six months

Identity is a funny thing. I don’t really get it to be honest. Just be good and win hockey games.

This team wants to be tough physically and tough to play against. The Edmonton Oiler game showed that a fight by MacEwan did nothing to inspire this team. The only time this team shows any real physicality is when it’s out of reach. Lasty, they are one of the easier teams to play against in the NHL.

I am not sure what this team’s identity is other than a bunch of overpaid under-30-somethings who know they don’t need to win to get their payday.

Reading social media about ‘shaking things up’ has been laughable the last few days. Let’s shake things up but Brady, Stu, Chabot, Norris, Batherson, Sanderson, and Ullmark are all untouchables. I’d give this core a few more weeks but the only real way you shake anything up is by moving on from quality players. Trying to upgrade depth d-men and forwards with zero cap space, just isn’t happening and won’t change the issue of the core not performing to their full potential.

Easy to do in hindsight but I really wish the club pulled the trigger on a Chabot move before his no-trade kicked in. Easiest core guy to move on from. This club keeps trying to insulate this core (Debrincat, Chychrun, etc) but the results don’t change and instead of moving on from the existing core, they move on from the new guys. Giroux will be the next big name that was brought in that will leave if losing continues.

I am always happy to be proven wrong and would love to see this core flick a switch and become the playoff contender that they should be. The last week or so, it’s tough to envision that and I think fans deserve to be a bit frustrated.

And absolutely no one should be surprised when Brady demands a trade in six months
- AxlRose91

Brady is a stand up guy.Brady said he would see this through to the end. What he was saying was he would honour his contract. Nothing more,nothing less. So not next year but in 2 years could be decision time for the organization regarding Brady . And that would be fair all around if the status quo remains

Are you happy with the leafs identity?
- spazzbot

No, but but at least they make the playoffs continually, even with a goaltending revolving door.

They also have some good prospects they've snagged outside of top picks to help with the players leaving (knies, cowen).

You could argue the heartbreak is worse to lose the way they do, but at least have much greater hope and optimism as things stand today.

Identity is a funny thing. I don’t really get it to be honest. Just be good and win hockey games.

This team wants to be tough physically and tough to play against. The Edmonton Oiler game showed that a fight by MacEwan did nothing to inspire this team. The only time this team shows any real physicality is when it’s out of reach. Lasty, they are one of the easier teams to play against in the NHL.

I am not sure what this team’s identity is other than a bunch of overpaid under-30-somethings who know they don’t need to win to get their payday.

Reading social media about ‘shaking things up’ has been laughable the last few days. Let’s shake things up but Brady, Stu, Chabot, Norris, Batherson, Sanderson, and Ullmark are all untouchables. I’d give this core a few more weeks but the only real way you shake anything up is by moving on from quality players. Trying to upgrade depth d-men and forwards with zero cap space, just isn’t happening and won’t change the issue of the core not performing to their full potential.

Easy to do in hindsight but I really wish the club pulled the trigger on a Chabot move before his no-trade kicked in. Easiest core guy to move on from. This club keeps trying to insulate this core (Debrincat, Chychrun, etc) but the results don’t change and instead of moving on from the existing core, they move on from the new guys. Giroux will be the next big name that was brought in that will leave if losing continues.

I am always happy to be proven wrong and would love to see this core flick a switch and become the playoff contender that they should be. The last week or so, it’s tough to envision that and I think fans deserve to be a bit frustrated.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

I've never liked the expression being "tough to play against". It 's a backhanded compliment that you put on bad teams that lose hockey games.

No one says that about the best teams in the league because you already know it when they score 3-4 goals and beat you.

Like you said its still early, but so far this feels more frustrating than past seasons because they have looked better at times. Carrying play and getting saves we didn't see before. But then we see the past three games among others and are left wondering if it was all a mirage.

A lot of people on other sites talking about puck luck or PDO saying the sens should be having better results, but at the end of the day its more losses stacking up for mentally fragile group of players that will have trouble clawing their way back even if the "luck" turns around.

I'd be happy being a Leaf fan. Play offs every year. And ANYTHING can happen in the playoffs. You suddenly find a way? Catch a team or two off guard. Make it to the ECF? But none of that happens if you don't even make the dance.

But.
For starters. Coach refuses to shake things up. Sit some defense. Not just Hamonic. Lets have Chabbot or Sanderson watch a game. Pinto, maybe to some, looks defensively sound. But to me he still looks injured. He looks like Batherson did after rerturning from that high ankle sprain. Good enough to play on but not 100%.

People need to stop flying the zone before we have control of the puck. Yes, I get it we have a hard time producing. But I'd rather be tied 0-0 then down 0-2.

THey'll come out flying against Vegas tonight and give up the first two goals in 10 min.Take a bad penalty. 3-0. Rinse and repeat like the other night against Edmonton.

No, but but at least they make the playoffs continually, even with a goaltending revolving door.

They also have some good prospects they've snagged outside of top picks to help with the players leaving (knies, cowen).

You could argue the heartbreak is worse to lose the way they do, but at least have much greater hope and optimism as things stand today.
- david22

I agree , At this point .i would take 7 years of choking in the plaoffs over being at the bottom for 7 years. But i am not so sure there is much of a difference. Both fan bases suffer the same respective dissapointing fate every year.
Toronto is similar to Edmonton at least there is deserved confident hope with the fan base.

I've never liked the expression being "tough to play against". It 's a backhanded compliment that you put on bad teams that lose hockey games.

No one says that about the best teams in the league because you already know it when they score 3-4 goals and beat you.

Like you said its still early, but so far this feels more frustrating than past seasons because they have looked better at times. Carrying play and getting saves we didn't see before. But then we see the past three games among others and are left wondering if it was all a mirage.

A lot of people on other sites talking about puck luck or PDO saying the sens should be having better results, but at the end of the day its more losses stacking up for mentally fragile group of players that will have trouble clawing their way back even if the "luck" turns around.
- david22

Good post. I agree to some extent about the puck luck and PDO but I agree with you that things can have a way of adding up negatively. It’s extremely hard in the NHL to just flip a switch and things start to go right again.

When folks blame it on luck and PDO, they are choosing ignore the eye test. Guys like Zub and Ullmark just look bad. Luck isn’t going to help them. I can’t recall the last time Pinto had a legitimate scoring opportunity. It feels like most of the forwards points have come from Stutzle’s strong play. The forward depth outside of Gaudette is non-existent and Gaudette has gotten more powerplay time as a result of some of the top-6 forward production.

Things can definitely change in a couple of weeks with a few wins and after the Vegas game, this team has a strong of very winnable games, so hopefully this is a rock bottom, can only go up from here, type of moment.

Ullmark won a Vezina on one of the strongest, most defensively-stacked and well-coached teams in league history. This is a far cry from the Ottawa dumpster-fire, with an AHL caliber defensive corps. Ottawa is where goalies go to die. How on earth was management given the green light to sign this guy to a massive contract before he ever stepped on the f#cking ice????? No one should be surprised by this. And absolutely no one should be surprised when Brady demands a trade in six months
- AxlRose91

I dunno. Montgomery just got fired, and Bruins D core looks identical, arguably better than it was prior now with Zadorov. Who'd they lose? Forbort? Grzelyck? Clifton? Not really game changers, yet watch them flounder now.

What they did lose is a significant defensive presence from their forward group, and perhaps that's where we Sens fans should be paying more attention. I am wondering now if it is less the backend and more the front that we should be concerned about.

oh look another goal by a uncovered opponent...

Boston scamed OTT, they did not trade Ullmark to OTT, that is korpi he just uses ullmarks name.

All the 'wait for Brady to demand a trade' talk....let him. His game tonight was pathetic. Shooting hail mary wrist shots hoping Samsonov is doing a Sens goalie impression, terrible back checks like his ps5 controller died, and zero emotion which has always inflated his actual value. Good luck to the team that gets him after his trade demands.

I am actually perplexed with his game this year. I guess losing wears on you or having a kid impairs your ability to be a captain but man, seeing your captain play like poop is not going to make your team win.

This team has an unparalleled ability to make backups look like Vezina winning goaltenders. It's perplexing.

This team has zero blue line play from any of their defensmen. Offence is incredibly hard when your blue line cannot produce any chances. Sanderson has taken a step back and Chabot is exactly what he is but folks are afraid to say he is poop.

Outside of Stutzle, this core sucks right now. Guys like Giroux, Jensen, and even Gaudette look to have invested efforts to try and play well but they cannot offset the spoiled core. Chabot and Norris should have been moved in the summer.

The good news? I remember a day when fans thought Alfie wasn't the captain for this team, but that worked out. Marian Hossa was a great core player but was traded for an even more effective player (in his tenure in Ottawa) in Dany Heatley. Things can happen.

Tired of the losing and throwing out hope.

Apologies for the lack of posts this week... it was an intense work week, and there were just too many things happening in a short period of time. Not to mention that back-to-back games of largely uninspired hockey doesn't exactly get the juices flowing. But I'll have something posted after tonight's game... hopefully about a more positive outcome.