Anderson has been great, but I've been equally impressed with Boucher and what he's done for the team. It's still a work in progress but the Sens can finally play shutdown hockey. Anderson has always been great in my books - we've never been a strong defensive team and he's always kept us in seasons.
The vibe I get from the team is different than other years. We have some great players, but the attitude of the team hasn't been that great. It seems like they're taking things a lot more seriously this season. I've always said 2 points in October is worth as much as 2 points in April. I wanna see what this team can do in the playoffs without it coming down to the last second.
It's crazy really, we are more than quarter way into the season and I am yet to hear anyone really taking the Sens seriously. Powerplay aside, every other aspect of our play has improved this year. Defensively we are leaps and bounds ahead. I'm happy to ride this out though and let Montreal take all the heat instead.
I've always been a big believer in the Western road trips being a barometer to how successful the team will be. We've already done Western Canada. Pacific trip starts tonight - technically Pittsburgh first but then San Jose, LA, Anaheim all this week. BIG week to see where this team stacks up.
You're right. Although guys like Karlsson, Anderson and other players deserve a lot more credit, recognition and attention than they've gotten, I'd much rather be a surprise waiting to happen.
It's crazy really, we are more than quarter way into the season and I am yet to hear anyone really taking the Sens seriously. Powerplay aside, every other aspect of our play has improved this year. Defensively we are leaps and bounds ahead. I'm happy to ride this out though and let Montreal take all the heat instead.
I've always been a big believer in the Western road trips being a barometer to how successful the team will be. We've already done Western Canada. Pacific trip starts tonight - technically Pittsburgh first but then San Jose, LA, Anaheim all this week. BIG week to see where this team stacks up.
Sustainable factors:
-Anderson good
-Decent shot generation on PP and shot suppression on PK
Things that could turn in Ottawa's favour:
-Shooting percentage
-Health/callups
Things that are bad that Ottawa needs to address:
-Not winning in regulation
-Losing possession battle (particularly at home)
While Ottawa continues to dwell in the negative for shot attempts, Boucher can hang his hat on turning the Sens into a low-event team from a high-event team. I see this as a stepping stone on the path to recovery from the MacLean/Cameron guns-a-blazin' era. They're getting closer to that 30/30 shots-for/shots-against threshold as opposed to the 28/32 from last year.
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