Monday's LNN: Frustrating Week, Sens' Roster Shuffling, Coach Shuffling
It's a Monday in November, which means it's extra depressing for Sens fans!
Was this past week bad for the Ottawa Senators? Yes. I can't even really sugar-coat it. They went 0-3 and looked pretty bad at times doing it. The good news is that the schedule is pretty soft for the next couple of weeks. If they're going to salvage this season, the chance is right in front of them. The bad news is that if they miss this shot, then we might be staring at meaningless games in January – yet again. No pressure guys!
Here's what going on with the Sens, and around the hockey world:
-Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for the Sens that means...swapping Zacks? On Sunday, Ottawa announced that Zack Ostapchuk had been recalled from Belleville and that Zack MacEwen had been placed on waivers. Ostapchuk had some good flashes to start the year, and he definitely brings more upside.
-Alex Adams has his quarter-mark report card for the Sens over at Sportsnet. While I think he's probably being a bit too generous to the goaltending, on the whole I agree with Adams' take on the team: the top forwards have been very good, the depth forwards have been OK, the defensive structure has been better, Sanderson has struggled but should rebound, and almost none of the previous items matter when the goaltending has been this poor. If Ullmark had played to form, the Sens are likely 11-7-1 or something. It's not just the goaltending, but it's been a lot about the goaltending!
-After the Boston Bruins shockingly fired Jim Montgomery, the St. Louis Blues hastily decided that the respected bench boss was an immediate upgrade on their current coach. St. Louis fired Drew Bannister and, on the same day, announced they had signed Montgomery to a shiny new five-year deal. Montgomery's mostly coached some very strong Boston rosters in recent years: will his magic carry over to a decidedly less good St.Louis squad?
-He's not quite at Alex Ovechkin's level of output, but with his 600th goal on Saturday night, Sidney Crosby is in some rarefied air. Currently 21st on the all-time goals list, Crosby would move all the way up to 18th with just 11 more.
-Over at ESPN, the staff re-visit their pre-season predictions – an exercise that I highly encourage for any aspiring sports pundits. It's a lot harder than you think!
-The San Jose Sharks retired Joe Thornton's #19 jersey on the weekend. Even in his prime in the 2000s Thornton was something of an anachronism, lumbering up and down the ice. He's the living proof that there's no replacement for top-shelf hockey IQ.
-Over at the Athletic, the staff pulled together one stat for every team's season to-date. Here's Ottawa's section:
Linus Ullmark’s .887 save percentage: It’s hard to boil down the Senators’ season in one stat. Despite hovering around the .500 mark, they still need to shed the inconsistencies and deficiencies that have plagued them from years past. Goaltending is at the top of that list. And though Anton Forsberg hasn’t been perfect himself, more blame will be thrown at starting goaltender Ullmark. The Sens need him to be better consistently. — Julian McKenzie
Can't say I disagree!
