A Return to Form

After almost a year of inactivity, I've decided to start this blog back up again. I don't think I'll be doing regular post-game updates, just random posts about my thoughts on the play of the Senators, or reposting lengthy comments I have left on the forums. 

The Senators have clearly been off to a shaky start since the return from Stockholm, but despite the rarely altered win column, have shown signs of the better structured team game fans can expect to see past the twenty game mark. It is a work in progress, and those expecting the addition of Hartsburg and the new personnel to play immediate dividends were clearly getting ahead of themselves (myself included). But when all is said and done, we can expect a Hartsburg team to battle every night, win or lose.

Some key points of anticipation: 

 Opponents will be forced to earn their victories. The Senators aren't going to win every game, not even close. But they can make the opposition earn the two points. Since the return from Sweden, this team has handed the opposition an early lead, then provided brief bursts of feigned intensity and pride, but never put the result in doubt. Worst still, they've all been on home ice. I trust he can instill it over time, but a Hartsburg team needs to be on that makes the opposition earn every possession of the puck, every entrance in our zone, every shot on net, and every goal. They must be physically bashed, offensively frustrated, and psychologically intimidated. We have Smith, Volchenkov, Ruutu, Neil, Fisher, Phillips, Schubert - there is no way Ottawa can't be a team that is painful and difficult to play against.

 This team will stop being mentally weak. Far too often as Senators fans, we see that go-ahead goal by the opposition, that we know this team will simply never counter. Whether it's scored 30 seconds or 30 minutes into the game, some nights you just see this team sink at the thought of facing the improbable, overcoming a deficit. We see it all around the league - teams overcoming one, two, even five goal deficits. But with this team, Gerber lets in the opening goal and you just know - no matter how many strong shifts, no matter how many PP opportunities, no matter how many unmissable setups - this team will just not get it done. Why? There is no reason. Hartsburg can reignite the cockyness in these players. Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza are intimidating players who can, and should, score at the drop of a hat. He needs to bring back the belief that the Senators are out of a game when the fat lady sings, not when an unfortunate goal bounces past Gerber 20 seconds in. 

As I said, I believe a Hartsburg team can provide these elements, and I believe we have the personnel to deliver it. While, as with any team, there are areas of weakness that can be improved upon, well-coached teams can rise above unideal rosters and get results. The Senators have shown a need for a more consistent and reliable goaltender, and for a fabled "puck moving defenseman" and some consistent secondary offense. However, even in the absence of these roster improvements, the players currently on the team have shown the ability to step in and play a role admirably even when they might not be the ideal candidate on paper - see Kuba, Auld, Picard and most surprisingly Donovan. 

It is still young in a long season and we have seen this team start off equally shakily and go on to the best finish in franchise history. I look around the league and see good, perhaps great teams like Anaheim and Philadelphia struggling. I see elite goaltenders like Kiprusoff and Turco playing like sieves, but were I a fan of their teams would have no panic or fear about their ability to get it on track. *As a Senator fan, I of course have much more emotional investment about our team and get far too angry about Gerber's first goal or ecstatic about Alfie's goal or depressed about Vermette's last minute attempt. But when I allow myself to step back a bit, I am less fearful. I see plenty of great elements on a team that just needs to connect the dots. 

Without being too optimistic, I will say that Hartsburg and the Senators have been provided with a great opportunity to see their flaws in full light, have ample time to fix mistakes, patch roster holes and implement an effective system. It is not game 78 and this team has not been on a 5 month slide. This team has not been winning games through luck, hot streaks and favourable opponents, masking deep problems and creating false confidence. The weaknesses are in full light, but so are the strengths. This will be a harrowing start that will require patience, temperment, and a little blind faith, but it will not be for naught.

*The main gist of this article was written almost a week ago, and we can already see that these teams and players have turned the corner.