Back! ish....

So after a long hiatus due to mainly laziness I should be posting a little more regularly. Now to kick off the start of this New Year I'll take a look at My home team the Ottawa Senators. After another boring defeat to the Florida Panthers the Senators are now on a three game losing skid heading into Carolina this evening. The team just lost another player in Jesse Winchester and maybe "Top offensive" defenceman Filip Kuba bringing their injury numbers to 4 and 5 respectively. I put top offensive in quotations because though he's being paid to be that stalwart D-Man, Kuba has hardly played in a way that merits such a title. Like most of the Senators he's been underachieving but he's simply looked lost for the most part. Bobbling pucks and simply not making crisp passes it's hard to get powerplay goals when Kuba is unable to perform. If you look at most effective powerplays, there's always a threat from a shot from the point and normally from either point man. That's not to say both will shoot but both have the slight threat of a shot. I've watched a lot of Ottawa's struggles on the powerplay and a lot comes from teams knowing who's the trigger man. Kuba normally lines up with Alfredsson, when's he's healthy, on the right or left point. Alfredsson has a good shot and a lot of teams cover him to prevent that shot.

The problems the team has been facing aren't based off the powerplay alone. Goaltending has been shaky at best looking spectacular at times and horrific at other times normally in the same game. I'm not one to question coaching but at this point I would ride Leclaire for the next several games. Both Leclaire and Elliot have struggled but Leclaire was brought in as a Number 1 guy. Not 1a or the backup. Since you have no hot hand to ride, you ride the supposed prized horse and hope he catches fire.

Ottawa faces a lot of road games now and their losing record on the road and all their injuries likely means they fall from they playoff position very rapidly.